Acetylene reduction by soil cores of maize and sorghum in Brazil

Tjepkema, J. and Berkum, P. Van (1977) Acetylene reduction by soil cores of maize and sorghum in Brazil. Applied Environmental Microbiology, 33 (3). pp. 626-629.

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Abstract

Nitrogenase activity was measured by the C2H2 reduction method in large soil cores (29 cm in diameter by 20 cm in depth) of maize (Zea mays) and sorghum (Sorghum vulgare). The activity was compared to that obtained by a method in which the roots were removed from the soil and assayed for nitrogenase activity after an overnight preincubation in 1% O2. In a total of six experiments and 28 soil cores, the nitrogenase activity of the cores was an average of 14 times less than the activity of roots removed from the same cores and preincubated. Nitrogenase activity in the cores was very low and extrapolated to an average nitrogen fixation rate of 2.8 g of N/hectare per day. It was shown that inadequate gas exchange was not a reason for the lower activity in the soil cores, and the core method gave satisfactory results for nitrogenase activity of soybeans (Glycine max) and Paspalum notatum

Item Type: Article
Author Affiliation: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa AgropecĂșaria, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Subjects: Soil Science and Microbiology > Soil Sciences
Divisions: Maize
Sorghum
Depositing User: Ms K Syamalamba
Date Deposited: 17 Dec 2012 08:17
Last Modified: 17 Dec 2012 08:17
Official URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC170735...
URI: http://eprints.icrisat.ac.in/id/eprint/9115

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