Effect of Rhizobium Inoculation on the Yield of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in the Sandy Soils of the Kordofan Region, Western Sudan PDF

Keywords

Groundnut, Arachis hypogaea L., Rhizobium, Kordofan State, Sodiri and Barberton cultivars

Abstract

Cultivation of groundout (Arachis hypogaea L.) in Western Sudan is still lacking nitrogen fertilizers. Hence, three effective Rhizobium strains (IC 7001, IC 7017, and IC 6006) were introduced from ICRISAT (India) and compared to the local strains under the conditions in the Western Kordofan State during the 1999, 2000 and 2001 growing seasons. Under the conditions of higher rainfall in the 1999 and 2001 growing seasons, the introduced strains had relatively higher, but non-significant, pod yields per hectare than the control. However, the naturally inoculated plants of the indigenous strains (i.e., the control) had out yielded those of the introduced Rhizobium strains during the lowest rainfall season of 2000. These results indicate that the introduction of Rhizobia strains from abroad has no benefits for groundnut production in western SUdan. Hence, the future research on nitrogen fixation by groundnut in this area should be directed to selection and identification of the most effective rhizobia strains from the adapted local populations.