Abstract
The extent of nitrogen(N) fixation in sugarcane grown in reddish brown earth soils in Sevanagala was determined using the difference in 15 N abundance in the top visible dewlap leaves of sugarcane (variety CO 775, SL 8306) compared to those of neighbouring weeds. Results indicate that biological N 2 fixation contributed to an average of 18% of the total N in sugarcane in the study site.
Highlights
Nitrogen (N) is one of the important plant nutrients necessary for sugarcane production
It has been found in Brazil and few other countries where sugarcane is grown, that endophytic nitrogen fixing bacteria associated with some sugarcane varieties supply a considerable amount of nitrogen
biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) appears to have not taken place in sugarcane grown in allotments C-07-29, C-07-51, D-02-330 and D-02-324 while cane in other allotments have fixed N2 as shown in Tables 1 and 2
Summary
Nitrogen (N) is one of the important plant nutrients necessary for sugarcane production. Over the few decades, due to depletion of petroleum reserves and increased production costs of other fuels, price rise of inorganic nitrogenous fertilizers may be inevitable. If N2 fixing bacteria inhabit the rhizosphere of any plant or occur endophytically in the plant tissues, it would be a symbiotic association similar to that found in legumes and rhizobia. It has been found in Brazil and few other countries where sugarcane is grown, that endophytic nitrogen fixing bacteria associated with some sugarcane varieties supply a considerable amount of nitrogen. A variety of N2-fixing (diazotrophic) bacteria (Beijerinckia, Bacillus, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Erwinia, Azospirillum, Herbaspirillum and Gluconaacetobacter) have been isolated from the rhizosphere, roots, stems, and leaves of sugarcane[1, 2]
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