Yield Yield Components And Nitrogen Partitioning In Bambara Groundnut Vigna Subterranea Common Bean Phaseolus Vulgaris And Cowpea Vigna Unguiculata Grown Under Stress And Non Stress Soil Moisture Conditions PDF Download

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc) is the third most significant food legume in Africa after groundnut (Arachis hypogea) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). It is normally grown in poor soils, is drought tolerant, and has a high potential for nitrogen fixation. Despite that, Bambara groundnut yields are on a gradual decline due to a combination of abiotic and biotic stresses such as erratic annual rainfall and climate induced changes in soil microbial community compositions, which negatively impacting food security. Thus, the application of rhizobial inoculants at planting significantly improves yields in many leguminous crops. Moreover, symbiotic inoculants are mainly used in developed countries to improve nitrogen fixation and improve productivity of grain legumes. Sub-Saharan African countries like Namibia, however, still under-utilise the above practice. Three (3) studies were conducted, of which two were conducted in 2021, and in 2021/22 season. The first study was on farmer’s appraisal, which was aimed to assess Bambara groundnut production systems in Kavango East Region. Bambara groundnut farming systems, farming inputs, and production constraints were explored in the two constituencies in Kavango East region. Subsequently, an experiment in a greenhouse of the ZERI at the University of Namibia using soil from the Kavango region to ascertain how well the various Bradyrhizobium strains promote nodulation and yield components among three varieties of Bambara groundnut was conducted. The study also evaluated the strains that are most competitive to reach the roots and promote nodulation in a given period. For the greenhouse experiment, the treatments included three different Bambara groundnut varieties that were inoculated with two types of inoculants (MIX inoculant with 7 Bradyrhizobium strains [1-7; 3B 4-1; 9-5, 36 1-1; 36 3-2; 55 1-1 and 60 2-1] and inoculant with Bradyrhizobium vignae 9-5 only), both of which were obtained from the University of Bre