The influence of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar. trifolii on the growth and neighbour relationships of Trifolium repens and three grasses

Trifolium repens was sampled from 10 areas dominated by each of Dactylis glomerata, Holcus lanatus, and Lolium perenne in each of three different-aged pastures. Cell extracts of nodule isolates of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar. trifolii were compared using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Each pasture contained a range of Rhizobium strains as defined by the protein profiles. No single strain was common to Trifolium sampled from the same grass species neighbourhood. The diversity of Rhizobium strains encountered was negatively correlated (r = −0.67; n = 9) with pasture age; old pastures showed a decrease in strain diversity. In addition, in the oldest pasture (45-year-old), tillers of the associated grasses were also sampled. In a glasshouse, ramets from each Trifolium clone and each of the three grass species were grown in all possible combinations with each of the three Rhizobium strains, plus Trifolium monocultures and an uninoculated control. All Trifolium clones gave increased yield in mixture with Lolium compared with yields with Dactylis and Holcus. Trifolium from the Holcus patches, in most cases, had higher yield than Trifolium from other grass patches. Rhizobium inoculation did not consistently increase Trifolium yield; it actually caused a decrease in yield when in mixture with Lolium. A significant Rhizobium × Trifolium interaction indicated a variable performance of each Trifolium genotype with different Rhizobium strains. The identity of the Trifolium clone had a significant effect on the yield of Holcus and Lolium, but not Dactylis. Total mixture yields were highest when Trifolium from a Lolium patch was part of the mixture. These results are discussed in the context of the hypothesis that Trifolium–grass coexistence is significantly influenced by Rhizobium strain differences.