Diazotrophic associations in sugar cane cultivation in South India. (171)

Abstract

Field experiments with N2-fixing Acetobacter diazotrophicus, Herbaspirillum spp., and Azospirillum lipoferum in association with vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) on South Indian commercial sugar cane varieties which were not associated with A. diazotrophicus naturally, indicated promising prospects for limiting the use of inorganic N fertilizer from 140 kg ha-1 to the recommended dose of 275 kg N ha-1. The results also confirmed that the use of these microbes as biofertilizers would support sugar cane yields equivalent to or greater than yields supported by the recommended chemical N fertilizers.