Assessing nodulation in legumes

Overview

Through nitrogen fixation, pasture legumes can deliver a sustainable input of nitrogen (N) into farming systems. This supports high-quality feed for livestock and soil nitrogen for non-legume pasture components or subsequent crops. However, more than 90% of legume-based pastures surveyed across NSW and WA have inadequate nodulation in their root systems.

This training package has been designed to provide producers with a relatively quick and simple process to be able to identify the nodulation status of their pasture legumes.

Learning objectives

At completion of this module, producers will be able to:

understand how to assess nodulation of legumes in their pastures
identify effective strains of rhizobia
understand the three main soil and management factors that can impact on legume nodulation
understand the impact of pH on rhizobia survival.