Nature doesn't always provide the most hospitable environment for legume seeds at planting time. Fortunately, inoculation can overcome some of the environmentally hostile conditions your crops face. In simple terms, inoculants are useful bacteria that infect roots, form nodules, and convert atmospheric Nitrogen into a useable form for the plant. This is particularly important when you're planting in:
- Sandy or virgin soils.
- Soils that have been under stress.
- Soils that are low in organic matter.
- Fields that have just come out of the CRP program.
- Fields that are on a long rotation schedule.
There are other factors, too, that can affect the survival of rhizobia populations in the soil, which in turn affects the plant's nitrogen-fixing ability. They include:
- Soil erosion, which can remove or deplete rhizobia populations.
- Poor soil drainage.
- High or low pH levels.
- Competing organisms.
- Soil treatment or chemicals, such as fungicides, that can reduce the presence of all soil organisms.
University and independent trials have proven time and time again that inoculating legumes with an effective strain of rhizobium increases yields. In fact, positive yield increases resulted in 80% of the trials conducted on ground thought not to need inoculant.
When it comes to increasing yields and improving soil conditions, there's no question that inoculation works.
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