article · Agronomy
Lentils provide essential protein for low-income families in Ethiopia, yet crop yields remain suppressed by poor soil fertility. Field and pot trials conducted in Southern Ethiopia evaluated the performance of six rhizobial inoculants, comprising four native and two commercial strains, against urea fertiliser and unfertilised controls across two lentil cultivars. Inoculation substantially improved nodulation, dry weight, and grain output compared to uninoculated controls. Under field conditions, the native strains Lt29 and Lt5 increased seed yields by 59 percent and 44 percent respectively, outperforming synthetic urea fertiliser, which increased yields by 40 percent. Pot trials confirmed these gains, with Lt29 and Lt5 raising yields by 92 percent and 67 percent. Furthermore, Lt29 achieved the highest nitrogen fixation rate at 65.7 percent, demonstrating that indigenous bacterial inoculants can match or exceed synthetic nitrogen fertilisers.
Lentils are an important source of dietary protein, but smallholder farmers often face low productivity due to depleted soils and high fertiliser costs. Demonstrating that indigenous bacteria can outperform expensive synthetic fertilisers provides a practical route to improving crop yields and food security, while reducing the environmental and financial burdens associated with chemical inputs.
The findings support the development of biofertiliser products based on local rhizobial strains such as Lt29. Agricultural input manufacturers and distribution organisations could formulate these strains into commercial inoculants for pulse growers. Because the work is applied and tested in both pot and field trials, the strains represent promising candidates for formal registration, scale-up, and field-level commercialisation.
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Lentil plays a major role in the food and nutritional security of low income Ethiopian families because of the high protein content of their seed; however, their productivity typically is low largely due to soil fertility limitations. Field and pot experiments were conducted during the 2011 cropping season to determine the effectiveness of Rhizobium strains on two cultivars of lentil in Southern Ethiopia. Six rhizobial inoculant treatments (four indigenous and two commercial inoculants), a nitrogen (N) fertilizer treatment (50 kg·urea·ha−1) and an absolute control (non-inoculated non-fertilized) were used. Inoculated plants produced significantly higher nodule number, nodule dry weight, grain yield and yield components than non-inoculated non-fertilized plants. Inoculation of field grown lentil with rhizobia strain Lt29 and Lt5 enhanced seed yield by 59% and 44%, respectively. Whereas urea fertilization enhanced yields by 40%. Similarly, grain yields were increased during the pot experiment by 92% and 67% over the control treatments by inoculation with Lt29 and Lt5, respectively. The highest levels of N fixation were achieved in plants inoculated with Lt29 (65.7% Ndfa). Both field and pot investigations indicate that inoculation of lentil with native rhizobial strains replace the need for inorganic N fertilization to optimize lentil yields.
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DOI: 10.3390/agronomy6010011
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