AUTHOR=Nakei Monica D. , Venkataramana Pavithravani B. , Ndakidemi Patrick A. TITLE=Preliminary symbiotic performance of indigenous soybean (Glycine max)-nodulating rhizobia from agricultural soils of Tanzania JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems VOLUME=6 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2022.1085843 DOI=10.3389/fsufs.2022.1085843 ISSN=2571-581X ABSTRACT=
Globally, the increase in human population continues to threaten the sustainability of agricultural systems. Despite the fast-growing population in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the efforts in improving the productivity of crops, the increase in the yield of crops per unit area is still not promising. The productivity of crops is primarily constrained by inadequate levels of soil nutrients to support optimum crop growth and development. However, smallholder farmers occasionally use fertilizers, and the amount applied is usually small and does not meet plant requirements. This is due to the unaffordability of the cost of fertilizers, which is enough to suffice the crop requirement. Therefore, there is a need for alternative affordable and effective fertilization methods for sustainable intensification and improvement of the smallholder farming system's productivity. This study was designed to evaluate the symbiotic performance of indigenous soybean nodulating rhizobia in selected agricultural soils of Tanzania. In total, 217 rhizobia isolates were obtained from three agroecological zones, i.e., eastern, northern, and southern highlands. The isolates collected were screened for N2 fixing abilities under