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The cost of nitrogen (N) fertilizers continues to rise besides the fertilizer’s role as a potential pollutant. Amelioration and/or improvement in the fertility of poor soils using such inorganic fertilizers prove less feasible as such. The rhizobium -legume symbiosis is, therefore, suggested as an alternative to solving the soil N fertility problem. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) can be an important means for a continued and sustainable productivity of N-demanding agricultural crops. Most legumes are very sensitive to saline condition yet the rhizobia they house, due to adaptation of some strains to saline conditions, are not. Assessment of groundnut for BNF on saline soils cannot be overestimated, especially as more farmers are coming into irrigated agriculture. Besides, there is little to no reported work on the subject, particularly on the groundnut genotypes under study. A screen house trial was conducted in 2012 at the Department of Soil Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. The study aimed at determining the symbiotic nitrogen fixation of some groundnut genotypes grown on a salt-affected soil. The treatments consisted of six groundnut genotypes (SAMNUT 10, 11, 21, 22, 23 and 24) and two soil types (saline and non-saline). A non-nodulating groundnut genotype (ICGL-5) was used as a reference crop. The treatments were laid in a completely |
