Abstract
Chickpea relies on inoculation with N2-fixing bacteria to fulfill its N requirement. The efficacy of the
inoculation process hangs on the success of association between N2-fixing bacteria and Chickpea plants. Seed
treatment with insecticides may kill the inoculated bacteria and result in poor establishment and upshot of the
symbiosis. Survival efficacy of four rhizobial (Mesorhizobium ciceri) strains (CRI14, CRI20, CRI34 and CRI35)
selected on the basis of preliminary study, was evaluated at increasing concentration of imidacloprid (0-200 µg L
-1
).
Amongst four inoculated strains, the strain CRI20 and CRI35 showed better survival in the presence of Imidacloprid
when compared to rest of two. Strain CRI35was able to tolerate insecticide above the recommended dose whereas
the strain CRI20 showed relatively less growth at high concentration. So, for as the efficacy of these strains was
concerned pertaining to improvement in growth of imidacloprid treated chickpea it was tested in a pot trial.
Chickpea seeds were treated with recommended dose of imidacloprid and then inoculated with respective rhizobial
strains as per experimental plan. Un-inoculated treated and untreated seeds were also used for comparison. The
pots were arranged according to completely randomized design in two sets having three replications each. At
flowering, plants from one set were uprooted and data regarding nodulation was recorded, whereas, the data
regarding growth and yield parameters was calculated from other set at maturity. The results showed that
inoculation not only improved nodulation but also caused a significant increase in growth and yield. Rhizobial
strain CRI35 performed better than the other which might be due to its better growth promoting traits in addition to
its ability to tolerate insecticide. Therefore, it is suggested to use only those rhizoidal strains that could tolerate
agrochemicals and survive well in the rhizosphere and would consequently nodulate legume plants more efficiently.
Sajid Mahmood Nadeem, Muhammad Yahya Khan, Maqshoof Ahmad, Muhammad Naeem Mushtaq, Kashif Nazir Qureshi, Muhammad Naveed. (2020) Survival efficacy and potential of Mesorhizobium Ciceri for enhancing the growth and yield of imidacloprid-treated chickpea (Cicer arietinum), The Journal Soil & Environment , Volume 39, Issue 1.
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