Development of rhizobial inoculant for leguminous cover crop Mucuna bracteata using local kaolin and rice husk as carriers.
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Date
2013
Authors
Ahmad Ghazali, Amir Hamzah
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Abstract
Our aim of this project is to increase the ability of the legume cover crop Mucuna
bracteata to serve as a nitrogen source for oil palm, by establishing effective
relationships with diazotrophic rhizobacteria. We have successfully isolated and
identified non-rhizobial diazotrophic microsymbionts from root nodules of M. bracteata
and it provides details for their potential use with Mucuna. Our findings indicated that the
isolated microsymbionts could nodulate and promote N:cfixation activity and enhanced
growth in association with the host plants. The 16S rONA sequencing revealed that the
diazotrophic microsymbionts consisted of A/phaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria and
Gammaproteobacteria classes of rhizobacteria. The study continues on survival
assessment of the rhizobia (Burkholderia sp. USM B20) in various carrier materials. The
results showed that carrier peat stored at 280C was able to sustain the highest viable cell
number of rhizobia. Optimization processes of the rhizobial biomass were also performed
in a shake flask experiment and subsequently upscale it into bioreactor. Overall, we
believe that proper inoculation of Mucuna with bioinoculants will reduce dependence
on chemical fertilizer inputs. It helps to increase the productivity and environment-friendly
practices of Malaysian oil palm producers.
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Keywords
Rhizobial inoculant , Biofertilizer , Sustainable Agricultural Practices , Burkholderia sp. , Mucuna bracteata , Leguminous cover crop , Biomass Optimization