Competition for nodulation of field-grown soybeans by strains of Rhizobium fredii

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Abstract
Nodulation of Glycine max (L) Merr. by six Rhizobium fredii strains was measured in two Midwestern fields containing high indigenous populations of Bradyrhizobium japonicum (3 × 105/gm soil). The soils were inoculated with antibiotic-resistant mutants using liquid inoculum at two levels on soybean cv. Peking and cv. Jacques 130. Strain establishment was measured 40 days after planting. In the first year, USDA206, USDA217, and USDA257 were the most competitive strains, occupying greater than 50% of the nodules on cv. Peking in both soils. None of the strains were competitive on Jacques 130. In the second growing season, all nodules were formed by the indigenous population on both cultivars, suggesting that these fast-growing strains do not persist in Midwestern soils.