EFFECT OF DIFFERENT INOCULANT ADHESIVE AGENTS ON RHIZOBIAL SURVIVAL, NODULATION, AND NITROGENASE (ACETYLENE-REDUCING) ACTIVITY OF SOYBEANS (Glycine max (L.) Merrill)
Inoculation of soybeans is essential to the establishment of a successful N2-fixing symbiosis in western Canadian soils that lack indigenous soil Rhizobium japonicum. A comparison was thus made between commercial and non-commercial adhesive agents used to optimize inoculation of King Grain line X005 soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) with seed-applied powdered peat-based inoculant. Gum arabic (40%, wt/vol) and carboxymethyl cellulose (4% wt/vol), available only from chemical supply houses, were excellent adhesive agents, binding over 800 mg of the inoculant per seed and protecting bacteria from desiccation. Wallpaper glue (10%, wt/vol), readily available in the market place and in common use by some farmers, bound 894 mg of inoculant per seed. The two most readily available commercial adhesive agents, Nutrigum and Nitracoat, bound similar amounts of inoculant. The use of water as an adhesive agent did not nourish the bacteria or protect them from desiccation and can not be recommended. All 12 adhesive agents tested resulted in over 105 viable rhizobia per seed, satisfying inoculation requirements under the Fertilizers Act. However, the three best adhesive agents bound over 800 mg of inoculant to the seed resulting in over 106 viable rhizobia per seed and more than 100 nodules per plant. Key words: Rhizobium japonicum, N2 fixation