Two Rhizobium strains (WU1001 and WU1008) were isolated from nodules of Acacia redolens growing in saline areas of south-west Australia, and two strains selected from the University of Western Australia's culture collection (WU429 isolated from A. saligna and WU433 from A. cyclops). The growth of each in buffered, yeast extract mannitol broth culture was largely unaffected by salt up to 300 mM NaCI. A slight increase in lag time occurred at concentrations of 120 mM NaCI and above, but cell number at the static phase was not affected. Each of the four Rhizobium strains tested accumulated Na ÷ but showed decreasing levels of sugar with increasing salt in the external medium. Amino acid levels also increased, in some cases by more than tenfold. However, the relative proportion of each remained fairly constant in the bacteria, irrespective of salt treatment. Only trace quantities of proline were detected and there was no increase in this amino acid with salt. Acidic amino acids (glutamate and aspartate) remained as a constant proportion.Rhizobium strains WU429, WU1001 and WU1008 produced effective nodules on both A. cyclops and A. redolens grown in sand with up to 80 mM NaCI (added in nutrient solutions free of nitrogen). Strain WU433 was highly infective on both Acacia species tested at low salt concentrations (2-40 mM NaCI), but infection was sensitive to salt levels at 120 mM NaC1 and above. Nodules formed with strain WU433 were, however, ineffective on both A. redolens and on A. cyclops and showed nil or negligible rates of acetylene reduction at all salt concentrations. Strains WU429, WU1001 and WU1008 in combination with a highly salt-tolerant provenance of A. redolens formed symbioses which did not vary significantly in nodule number and mass, specific nodule activity or total N content irrespective of salt level up to 160 mM NaC1. On a more salt sensitive provenance of A. reclolens and on A. cyclops the infectivity and effectivity of the Rhizobium strains tested usually decreased as the external salt concentration increased. These data are interpreted to indicate that tolerance of the legume host was the most important factor determining the success of compatible Rhizobium strains in forming effective symbioses under conditions of high soil salinity.

Although substantial rates of oxidative phosphorylation by bacteroids of Rhizobium are required to support sustained N2 fixation in legume nodules, the enzyme nitrogenase is extremely sensitive to oxygen. This apparent paradox indicates that nodules must exercise effective control over internal oxygen concentration. Structural features including lenticel development, the thickness and arrangement of cells and air spaces in the inner and outer cortex, the presence or completeness of the common endodermis as well as the distribution of infected cells, uninfected cells and air spaces in the nodule medulla are important to gaseous ventilation of the organ. Among these, the organisation of cells and water / gas- containing extracellular voids in the inner cortex bounding the infected medulla zone are critical components to overall diffusive resistance. These elements also appear to provide the means for the oper- ation of a reversible variable diffusion barrier to control gas movement. Inhibition of nodule functioning by a widely diverse range of factors, e. g. restricted H2O or photosynthate supply, exposure to acetylene or combined N, appears to be mediated through increased diffusion resistance.

Exogenous application of a 2 mol m-3 buffered solution of N6 benzylaminopurine (BAP) to flowers on the main stem inflorescence of Lupinus angustifolius L, cv. Danja profoundly altered reproductive development by reducing post-anthesis abscission of flowers and small pods. The same effect of BAP was recorded for a mutant (abs-) of cv. Danja, in which organ abscission was completely absent, indicating that localized application of cytokinin enhanced reproductive development rather than reduced pedicel abscission per se in the parent line. Application to pedicel and sepals at the open flower stage completely eliminated flower abortion on the main inflorescence, compared with less than 50% pod initiation on untreated inflorescences, more than doubled final pod yield on the main inflorescence and increased the number of mature pods on the whole plant by 33%. A single dose of BAP, to an inflorescence which bore flowers ranging in their stage of development from post-anthesis to immature flower buds, significantly increased the number of pods initiated and at final harvest, measured on a per plant basis. A number of synthetic and naturally occurring cytokinins, including zeatin riboside and dihydrozeatin riboside, were also effective. BAP application induced a longer period of flowering and resulted in a considerably thickened raceme. This was most marked at the distal end which showed enhanced cambial development and secondary vascularization compared with untreated controls. The positive effects of BAP application on pod initiation were not restricted to cv. Danja but were found also for cv. Warrah and cv. Gungurru, both of which have enhanced pod set compared with Danja. Enhanced pod initiation on the main inflorescence generally reduced the number of pods developing on branch inflorescences. Additional application of BAP to flowers on branches, even at the most opportune time and at the most effective site, did not enhance pod initiation and, in some cases, significantly reduced pod set on these branches. The data indicate that it would be very difficult to exploit the positive effect of exogenous cytokinin application on pod set in field crops of lupin. However, selection or genetic engineering of plants with higher levels of endogenous cytokinins in flowers or flower parts at anthesis may provide a means by which to assess the importance of this factor in determining yield stability.

Growth and reproductive phenology of field-grown, non-irrigated L. angustifolius (cv. Unicrop) were studied by periodic sampling of plants. Anthesis occurred when plant carbon content was only 15% of its final maximum. Flowering and the main periods of pod growth and seed filling took place, respectively, 0-6, 5-9 and 8-12 weeks after anthesis. Over 80% of the plant's gain of carbon in dry matter occurred 0-8 weeks after anthesis, after which drought-induced defoliation curtailed dry matter accumulation. 14CO2 was fed to selected plants at weekly intervals over the period 0-12 weeks after anthesis and time courses of transfer of 14C-labelled assimilates to fruits were assayed non-destructively by periodic sampling of phloem sap from fruits. Average specific radioactivity of carbon of phloem sap samples from primary, secondary and tertiary fruits of each feeding treatment were compared with specific 14C activities of the respective fruits harvested at maturity. The agreement between data was very close with times of 14CO2 feeding up to 8 weeks after anthesis. With later times of feeding, average specific radioactivity of phloem sap was higher than that of fruits as labelled sap was collected for only the latter part of the life of the fruit and before the fruit had accumulated unlabelled carbon. Carbon from photosynthate fed before or during flowering contributed mainly to protein of the seed, that from photosynthate formed during fruiting mainly to non-protein seed components. Distribution of 14C between amino and non-amino compounds of fruit phloem sap of plants fed 14CO2 at anthesis or in late fruiting reflected this effect. Estimates of contributions of carbon of photosynthate to fruits suggested that only 2% of the fruit's carbon came from photosynthesis before flowering and only 3 % from photosynthesis 0-3 weeks after anthesis, while 18, 28 and 23% came from photosynthate formed respectively 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12 weeks after anthesis.

Ten taxa of Acacia were selected from areas of moderate to high soil salinity (electrical conductivities of saturated soil paste extracts (ECe) between 1000 mS m--1 and 4800 mS m-1 at 50-600 mm depth) and sodicity to test the tolerance of young, symbiotic plants to increasing levels of salinity both with and without waterlogging. Nodulated plants, 3 months old, were grown in glasshouse experiments which consisted of four treatments: non-saline drained control (12 weeks); saline drained (12 weeks); non-saline waterlogged (5 weeks); and saline waterlogged (5 weeks). Acacia cyclops, A. brumalis, A. redolens (Ravensthorpe) and A. aff. lineolata had 100% survival after 12 weeks irrigation with saline solution (final ECw = 9500 mS m-1). Generally, the species tested were sensitive to waterlogging with A. patagiata, A. cyclops and A. brumalis being the most sensitive, having 19-44% mortality with no salt in the solution. The combined treatment of salt and waterlogging greatly increased the mortality of plants, with four species having > 70% dead after 5 weeks treatment (ECw = 3900 mS m-1). A. aff. lineolata and A. mutabilis subsp. ,stipulifera were highly tolerant of salt plus waterlogging, with 100% and 96% survival respectively. In salt plus waterlogged treatments, Na+ concentration in phyllodes of all taxa exceeded (0.37-2.13 mmol g-1 dry wt) that taken up by plants in freely drained salt treatments (0.03-0.42 mmol g-1 dry wt). Taxa with the slowest rates of growth tended to accumulate the highest concentrations of Na+ in the uppermost phyllodes. Provenances of A. redolens and A. patagiata collected from sites of high soil salinity (ECe > 2200 mS m-1) had less than half the Na+ concentration in uppermost phyllodes (0.22 mmol -1 dry wt) at the termination of the salt treatment, compared with provenances of the same species collected from moderately saline areas (ECe = 1100 mS m-1). This indicates that Acacia provenances collected from the most saline sites had greater potential to survive high levels of external salinity in the longer term than those from less saline sites.