Response of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) to Inoculation with Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria

Radka Donkova, Kostadinka Nedyalkova, Jonita Perfanova, Hristo Valchovski

Abstract: The response of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) to inoculation with nitrogen fixing bacteria of genus Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium were tested in pot experiment. Three varieties of cowpea, 5 Bradyrhizobium strains and 1 Rhizobium strain were involved in the study. It was found that inoculation of cowpea with all Bradyrhizobium strains increased the nodule formation and grain yield. Inoculation with Rhizobium strain had positive effect on the studied parameters only in cowpea variety “Hrisi”. The effective pairs “cowpea variety – Bradyrhizobium strain” were suggested to be tested in field experiments.

Keywords: cowpea; effectiveness; inoculation; nitrogen fixing bacteria; nodulation

Date published: 2017-02-21