Practices and Issues in the Inoculation of Prairie Legumes Used in Revegetation and Restoration.

The article examines practices that can be used in the selection and use of high-quality legume inoculants and identifies ongoing concerns with the inoculation and persistence of rhizobia in restoration areas. When crop or pasture plants are inoculated, the norm is to apply the appropriate rhizobia at seeding. In some countries only a single inoculant strain is used, while in the United States it is more common to inoculate with a mixture of several strains. During inoculation, seed, inoculant and a sticker that binds microorganisms to the seed are mixed until the seeds are uniformly covered. Traditionally, seed is set in the shade to dry and is usually sown the same day. Germination for agricultural species in a moist seedbed is relatively quick and uniform, with nodules usually evident within a week of seed germination and nitrogen fixation starting soon thereafter. Requirements for a good inoculant carrier include high water-holding capacity, ease of processing, non-toxicity to rhizobia, low cost and good buffering capacity.