Screening of high efficient symbiontic rhizobium on alfalfa

Four alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars were used to study the effectsof inoculation with 10 rhizobial strains. The results showed that inoculation improved alfalfa growth significantly in all cases. Compared with controls, the aboveground dry weight of alfalfa inoculated with rhizobia increased 5.8%～997.0%, the number of effective nodules increased 37.3%～1410.0% and total nodules 92.6%～1610.2% for four alfalfa cultivars. The interaction existed between the alfalfa cultivarsand the strains. The alfalfa cultivars ZhongmuNo. 1, RS, Vector and WL323 grew well in inoculation with the strains 30085, 45236, 25132; 30015, NM006, 25132; 30015, 45236, 25132 and 30096, 45236, 25132 respectively.