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Nitrogen fixation (acetylene reduction) and cross inoculation in 12 Prosopis (mesquite) species

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Abstract

The leguminous tree mesquite (Prosopis spp) exists on millions of hectares of semi-arid regions of the world. No whole plant acetylene reductions for mesquite have been reported in the literature and nodulation has only been reported for three of the forty-four species. We report greenhouse studies in which 12Prosopis species representing African and North and South American germplasm (1) became nodulated when inoculated with rhizobia strain isolated from a North American mesquite, (2) grew on a nitrogen free nutrient media, (3) reduced acetylene to ethylene, and (4) had a positive significant correlation between the acetylene reduction rates and above ground dry matter. The capability of mesquite to fix nitrogen must now be considered firmly established.

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  1. Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, 92521, Riverside, California

    Peter Felker & Peter R. Clark

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  1. Peter Felker
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  2. Peter R. Clark
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Felker, P., Clark, P.R. Nitrogen fixation (acetylene reduction) and cross inoculation in 12 Prosopis (mesquite) species. Plant Soil 57, 177–186 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02211677

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02211677

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