Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is a subtropical legume that requires root zone temperatures (RZTs) in the 25 to 30$ sp circ$C range for optimal symbiotic activity. The inability of soybean to adapt to cool soil conditions limits its development and yield in short season areas. In particular, nodulation and N$ sb2$ fixation by this subtropical crop species is sensitive to cool (RZT). The objectives of this thesis were to determine whether or not PGPR could be used to help overcome the low RZT inhibition of soybean nodulation, to improve soybean nitrogen fixation and yield under field conditions and to determine the methods by which such increases occurred. The work reported in this thesis has demonstrated that PGPR can increase early season nodulation and total seasonal nitrogen fixation and yield of soybean growing in an area with cool spring soils. The ability of PGPR to stimulate soybean nodulation and growth was shown to be related to their ability to colonize soybean roots, and this was shown to be related to RZT. All steps in early nodulation were stimulated by the presence of PGPR. The beneficial effects of PGPR are exerted through a diffusible molecule excreted into the growth medium. The addition of genistein, a plant-to-bacteria signal molecule already shown to stimulate soybean N$ sb2$ fixation at low RZT, plus PGPR causes increases in soybean nodulation, N$ sb2$ fixation, and growth that were greater than those caused by the addition of PGPR alone, but only at 25 and 17.5$ sp circ$C, and not at 15$ sp circ$C RZT.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.42011 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Dashti, Narjes. |
| Contributors | Smith, D. L. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Plant Science.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001564127, proquestno: NQ29918, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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