AUTHOR=Nartey Eric K. , Darko Daniel A. , Sulemana Nasirudeen , Assibey Ernest Osei 

TITLE=Efficacy of Histick Soy in soybean nodulation in two Alfisols of Ghana

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2022.1004090

DOI=10.3389/fsufs.2022.1004090

ISSN=2571-581X

ABSTRACT=Soybean is an important legume whose nitrogen-fixing ability may be exploited to improve the fertility status of soils. In Ghana where most of the soils are poor in fertility, cultivation of soybean presents an inexpensive way for resource-poor farmers to earn appreciable income and improve the fertility of arable land at the same time. However, the yield and N-fixing response of soybean to inoculation in most soils with poor fertility in Ghana are not well researched. A screen house study on the efficacy of Histick Soy (an inoculum manufactured by a German chemical company) on improving the nodulation of soybean in P deficient soils comprising two Plinthustalfs; (Ny1) and (Ny2) with a history and no history respectively, of soybean cultivation and a Kandiustalf with no history of soybean cultivation was evaluated in Ghana. A sterile river bed sand was included as a check.  Soybean seeds were inoculated with Histick Soy at three different rates namely, zero, half and recommended rate and grown in a screenhouse to ascertain the efficacy of the inoculant in nodulating soybean. Nitrogen was applied at 0 and 10 kg/ha, K at 60 kg/ha and P at 0, 30 and 60 kg/ha. These treatments were completely randomized with four replicates at a moisture content equivalent to 80% field capacity and grown till flowering. At flowering, the number of nodules per plant was counted. A parallel experiment was carried out to physiological maturity where 100 seed weight per pot was determined.  Results obtained revealed that plants from the un-inoculated seeds in the river bed sand and the Kandiustalf did not nodulate. In the case of (Ny2), the number of nodules at harvesting was statistically similar for half and full recommended application rate of the inoculant. The un-inoculated Ny2, with 4.4 average nodules per pot did not increase at half recommended application rate. At the recommended rate, nodule numbers increased 2.3-fold to 10.3.  The (Ny1) showed no response to inoculation. Treatments which received the application of 60 kg P/ha and 30 kg P/ha triggered higher responses to inoculation in low and high Bradyrhizobia population, respectively, in the Plinthustalfs.