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Nitrogen Partitioning in Cowpea as Influenced by Rhizobial Strain and Mineral Nitrogen

General Commission Atomic Energy, Boite Postale 868, Kinshasa XI Republic of Zaire
Soil and Crop Sci. Dep., The Texas Agric. Exp. Stn., Texas A&M Univ.,, College Station, TX 77843.

^* Corresponding author

Partitioning of nitrogen into the pods of legumes is an important yield determinant. The ability of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) ‘Bush Purple Hull’ to partition N from dinitrogen fixation and assimilated nitrate into pods was measured with the aid of ¹⁵N. Cowpea was inoculated with four strains of Bradyrhizobium species and grown in a glasshouse to maturity. Two nitrate treatments were included; one provided an initial dose of starter N (40 mg plant^–1) and the other provided split applications of N throughout the growth period (total of 240 mg plant^–1). With starter N only, the results indicated that the strain of rhizobia did not influence partitioning of biologically fixed dinitrogen or nitrate N into pods. However when inoculated with either of two strains, cowpea partitioned approximately 63% of the total assimilated nitrate from the continuous N treatment into the pods, whereas another strain partitioned approximately 52% into pods. Of the total N from dinitrogen fixation, 53 and 58% was partitioned into the pods for the starter N and continuous N treatments respectively. The strains of rhizobia were similar in the quantity of nodule tissue formed on the roots, but the quantity of N contained in the nodule tissue varied from 40 to 20 mg N plant^–1 for the starter N treatment. It appears that strains of rhizobia should be considered when undertaking experiments involving N partitioning.

Received for publication July 27, 1988.