The effect of green manure of gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp) leguminous plants applied for cereal maize cultivation and N uptake by cereal were investigated and analyzed in relation to influence of dual inoculation of gliricidia with microbial symbionts. Two pot experiments were conducted in greenhouse. The first trial was set up to enhance growth of gliricidia with exotic and indigenous rhizobial strains and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus and the second to determine the effect of gliricidia organic material on maize growth. Direct 15N-labelling techniques were used to estimate N-fixed by gliricidia plant and N uptake of maize cereal crop from green manuring was calculated. Growth of gliricidia trees estimated by aboveground biomass production and N fixed were positively affected by dual inoculations. This study showed that shoot dry weight and N accumulation of maize cultivated under gliricidia green manure were influenced by its application and indirectly by microbial treatments. The N recovery by the maize accounted 17.32% to 26.52% of N applied as gliricidia organic material. Gliricidia green manure N accumulation and release, and afterward microbial inoculations were substantially determining on maize crop N uptake and growth in sandy soil of Sub-Saharian Africa.

In the present study, 20 fungal strains were isolated from tomato rhizosphere of Senegal. Of 20 strains, five showed the chitinolytic activity on chitin agar medium. Of the five strains, NG4 showed the maximum solubilization zone. This strain was identified by preliminary biochemical and 18S rRNA sequencing analysis. Enzyme production started after 3 days of incubation and maximum was observed after 5 days of incubation. Culture filtrate amended with 0.1% colloidal chitin was used in the production medium. The optimum conditions for maximum chitinase activity are -6 days of growth and temperature of 30°C at pH 6.0. The chitinase activity was also influenced by the addition of carbon and nitrogen sources in the production medium.