Ocurrence and efficiency of Sesbaniavirgata (Cav.) Persmicrosymbiont in function of the soil properties

Abstract

The legume Sesbania virgata has a large economic and ecological importance and can be used in the recovery of areas with degraded soils and reforestation of riparian forests. S. virgata establishes specific and effective symbiosis with rhizobia species Azorhizobium doebereinerae. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of pH and base saturation (V%) on the survival of A. doebereinerae in the soil and in the establishment of the symbiosis with S. virgata. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse in pots containing 5.5 dm³ of soil with different values of V%: 22, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70%. It was observed that A. doebereinerae was only present in treatments that showed values of base saturation greater than 50%. In relation to the symbiosis, it has been found that the inoculation of S. virgata with A. doebereinerae is not effective in soils with pH and V(%) values below 5.8and 50, respectively.