. 1998. Response of alfalfa to inoculation with Penicillium bilaii (Provide). Can. J. Plant Sci. 78: 91-102. Yield and phosphorus (P) uptake response of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) to inoculation with Penicillium bilaii (Provide) at varying rates of P fertilizer, was determined in small-and large-plot experiments located in the Dark Brown, Black or Gray soil climatic zones of Saskatchewan and Alberta from 1994 to 1996. Soil at the sites contained low to medium levels of available P. In the establishment year of the small-plot experiments, inoculation of alfalfa with P. bilaii increased yields and P uptake by 3 to 18%, when averaged across P fertilizer rates. The largest response to inoculation occurred early in the growing season. In the year following establishment, yield and P uptake of inoculated alfalfa averaged 3% greater than uninoculated plants. In the establishment year of the large-plot experiment in 1994 and 1995, yields and P uptake of inoculated alfalfa at 10% bloom were 7 and 26% greater than uninoculated plants, when grown without and with a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) companion crop, respectively. Unlike the small-plot experiment, alfalfa in the year following establishment did not respond to inoculation performed the previous year. The P credit (P fertilizer replacement value) of P. bilaii inoculation, based on yield response in the establishment year and in the year following establishment, averaged 4.6 kg P ha -1 in the small-plot experiments and 5.3 kg P ha -1 in the large-plot experiments. Tillage cropping practices that conserve water near the soil surface, and inclusion of a companion crop, may increase the probability of alfalfa response to P. bilaii inoculation as well as the efficacy of that response.

Field evaluation of dual inoculation of alfalfa with Sinorhizobium meliloti and Penicillium bilaii. Can. J. Plant Sci. 80: [303][304][305][306][307][308]. Field experiments were conducted at five sites to evaluate the effects of dual inoculation of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) with Sinorhizobium meliloti and Penicillium bilaii, a phosphorus-solubilizing fungus, on the yield and quality of alfalfa hay. Dual inoculation with S. meliloti strain NRG-34 and P. bilaii strain PB-50 increased nodule number and occupancy, but resulted in only small increases in hay yield and total nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations of hay compared with inoculation with S. meliloti alone. There was little response of alfalfa to phosphorus fertilizer at the sites, and this may partly explain the small effects of dual inoculation of the two microorganisms. There were no significant differences in nodulation, hay yield or hay nutrient concentrations between alfalfa inoculated with separate NRG-34 and PB-50 inoculant products and that inoculated with a co-cultured inoculant. This similarity in response supports use of a single effective delivery system for the two different rhizosphere microorganisms, which is of great practical relevance as producers are more likely to adopt technology that requires a single inoculation procedure than one requiring two separate inoculation procedures at planting time. meliloti, mais n'a donné lieu qu'à de légères augmentations du rendement en foin ainsi que des teneurs du foin en N et en P total, par comparaison avec l'inoculation du seul S. meliloti. Cela pourrait s'expliquer en partie par le peu de réponse de la luzerne à la fumure phosphorée manifesté aux emplacements des expériences. Il n'y avait pas de différences significatives relativement à la nodulation, au rendement en foin ou au contenu nutritionnel de la luzerne selon que l'ensemencement était fait avec les deux souches produites en cultures séparées ou en association. Cette similarité de réponse incite à opter pour un bon système d'ensemencement unique pour les deux micro-organismes, ce qui pour les producteurs aurait l'avantage pratique de pouvoir exé-cuter l'inoculation en une seule opération plutôt que de devoir le faire en deux opérations distinctes.

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