Innovations in Dryland Agriculture

505

Table 3 Beneficial effects of bio-inoculants in dryland agriculture

Microbial inoculant Crop Effects References

Rhizobium Common bean

(Phaseolus

vulgaris L.)

Increased nodule dry mass,

shoot dry mass, seed yield

and N content

Nleya et al. ( 2001 )

Rhizobium Gum-arabic

(Acacia senegal)

Enhanced gum yield Faye et al. ( 2006 )

Rhizobium Groundnut Increased symbiotic and

yield traits

Ashraf et al. ( 2006 )

Rhizobium Chickpea (Cicer

arietinum L.)

Enhanced nodulation and

yield

Khattak et al. ( 2006 )

Rhizobium Mash bean

(Vigna mungo

L.)

Increased grain yield and

biological yield

Ahmed et al. ( 2012 )

Rhizobium Mungbean

(Vigna radiata

L.)

Enhanced plant growth,

nodulation and yield

Tripathi et al. ( 2012 )

Rhizobium Soybean Increased plant dry matter,

N uptake and pod yield

Patra et al. ( 2012 )

Rhizobium Snap bean

(Phaseolus

vulgaris L.)

Enhanced yield by 18 % Beshir et al. ( 2015 )

Asymbiotic nitrogen fixers

Azospirillum,

Azotobacter

Corn Increased plant height,

shoot and seed dry weight,

ear dry weight, and length

and number of seeds per

row. Increased nutrient

uptake (N, P, K, Fe, Zn,

Mn and Cu)

Biari et al. ( 2008 )

Azospirillum

brasilense

Corn Increased shoot dry weight

and grain yield

Woodard and Bly

( 2000 )

Azospirillum

brasilense INTA

Az-39

Wheat Vigorous vegetative

growth, increased dry

matter accumulation,

number of harvested grains

(6.1 %) and grain yield

(8.0 %)

Diáz-Zorita and

Fernández-Canigia

( 2009 )

Azospirillum

brasilense

Wheat Enhanced agronomic

performance and

productivity

Piccinin et al. ( 2011 )

Azotobacter Safflower Increased yield by 35 % Soleymanifar and

Sidat ( 2011 )

Azospirillum Safflower Increased yield by 21 % Soleymanifar and

Sidat ( 2011 )

Azospirillum Sorghum Increased grain yield,

water use efficiency over

control

Patil ( 2014 )

(continued)

Application of Microbiology in Dryland Agriculture