Performance of chickpea, lentil and lupin nodulated with indigenous or inoculated rhizobia micropartners under nitrogen, boron, cobalt and molybdenum fertilization schedules.

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum), lentil (Lens esculenta) and lupin (Lupinus albus) responded to inoculation with their respective symbiotants:Rhizobium loti, Rhizobium leguminosarum biovarviceae andBradyrhizobium sp. (Lupinus) alone or with (NH4)2SO4 at 30 ppm N. Soil application of Na2MoO4.2H2O at 3 ppm Mo, CoCl2.6H2O at 2 ppm Co(2+) or Na2B4O7.10H2O at 1 ppm B with 0 and 30 ppm N increased nodule weight and plant dry weight and N-content 60 days after sowing and seed yield, seed size and the N and P contents of seed. Nodule numbers slightly decreased with application of such chemicals. Mo enhanced performance of the three plants more than Co and B. Yield, total N and P-contents of lupin were comparable with those of chickpea or lentil and lupin had the highest levels of both N2-fixation and N absorption from the fertilizer. IndigenousR. leguminosarum biovarviceae was more established in the soil compared with the other two, chickpea and lupin, micropartners.