Competitiveness and Nitrogen Fixation Efficiency Analysis of Rhizobium leguminosarum Strains in Different Field Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Genotypes

The uneven effectiveness of rhizobia inoculants has increased interest in developing specific inoculants for each genotype. This study investigated the biological nitrogen fixation efficiency and competition between different Rhizobium leguminosarum strains in different pea genotypes, namely, “Egle DS” and “Respect”. The results showed that plant genotype was a significant factor determining competition and nitrogen fixation among R. leguminosarum strains. The most competitive R. leguminosarum LIN06 strain in the pea genotype “Egle DS” was characterized by a low nitrogen fixation efficiency, while the most competitive R. leguminosarum EGLE10 strain in the “Respect” genotype was characterized by a high biological nitrogen fixation efficiency. It was also found that the “Respect” genotype may prefer and form symbiotic relationships with more efficient nitrogen fixing strains, while the “Egle DS” genotype formed symbiotic relationships with less efficient strains. However, even less efficient strains had a significant positive effect on nitrogen accumulation in plants under natural conditions. Finally, our study showed that sophisticated tests and methods are not necessary to analyze the competitiveness of rhizobia; it is sufficient to analyze the effectiveness of bacterial strains on plants in unsterilized soil.