Fungicide seed coating decreased rhizobia survival and nodulation of field pea
Authors: Judith Rathjen1, Maarten Ryder1, Thang Viet Lai1, Matthew Denton1
1University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, Urrbrae
Funded by: GRDC project 9176500. Increasing the effectiveness of nitrogen fixation in pulse crops through development of improved rhizobial strains, inoculation and crop management practices.
Peer review:
Key Words: field pea, rhizobia, nodulation, nodules, n fixation, fungicide seed coating
Key Messages
- Nodulation was reduced when pea seeds were coated with P-Pickel T fungicide before inoculation
- Reductions in rhizobia numbers on fungicide-coated seeds occurred very quickly, within 2 h, but the toxic effect of the fungicide continued after sowing
- Dry soil conditions at sowing in 2018 are likely to have exacerbated fungicide toxicity to the rhizobia