Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The nitrogen-fixing clade consists of four orders of flowering plants: Cucurbitales, Fabales, Fagales and Rosales. [a] This subgroup of the rosids encompasses 28 families of trees, shrubs, vines and herbaceous perennials and annuals. The roots of many of the species host bacteria that fix nitrogen into compounds the plants can use. [4] [5]
Its nitrogen-fixing ability (which increases soil nitrogen) and its use as an animal feed greatly improve agricultural efficiency. [33] [34] Alfalfa can be sown in spring or fall, and does best on well-drained soils with a neutral pH of 6.8–7.5. [35] [36] Alfalfa requires sustained levels of potassium and phosphorus to grow well. [37]
In the European Union, for example, though it does not make up most of the weight of livestock feed, soybean meal provides around 60% of the protein fed to livestock. [161] In the United States, 70 percent of soybean production is used for animal feed, with poultry being the number one livestock sector of soybean consumption. [ 162 ]
Bambara groundnut represents the third most important grain legume in semi-arid Africa. [8] It is resistant to high temperatures and is suitable for marginal soils where other leguminous crops cannot be grown. [9] It is a low-impact crop. [10] The entire plant is known for soil improvement [11] because of nitrogen fixation.
Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae – with taxa such as clover, soybeans, alfalfa, lupins, peanuts, and rooibos.They contain symbiotic bacteria called Rhizobia within nodules in their root systems, producing nitrogen compounds that help the plant to grow and compete with other plants.
The ability to fix nitrogen in nodules is present in actinorhizal plants such as alder and bayberry, with the help of Frankia bacteria. They are found in 25 genera in the orders Cucurbitales, Fagales and Rosales, which together with the Fabales form a nitrogen-fixing clade of eurosids. The ability to fix nitrogen is not universally present in ...
Rhizobium is a genus of Gram-negative soil bacteria that fix nitrogen. Rhizobium species form an endosymbiotic nitrogen-fixing association with roots of (primarily) legumes and other flowering plants. The bacteria colonize plant cells to form root nodules, where they convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia using the enzyme nitrogenase.
As well as an important source of food for humans in poor, arid regions, the crop can also be used as feed for livestock. [31] Its nitrogen-fixing ability means that as well as functioning as a sole crop, the cowpea can be effectively intercropped with sorghum , millet , maize , cassava , or cotton .