To analyze the cultivar differences of nitrogen fixation capacity in soybean under a high soil nitrogen condition, we estimated the amount of nitrogen fixed during the growing season and the percentage of the amount of fixed nitrogen against the total accumulated nitrogen (
RU-%Ndfa) by the relative ureide method,using eight genotypes including six common cultivars, a supernodulation cultivar and a non-nodulation line. Supernodulating cultivar, Sakukei 4, fixed the greatest amount of nitrogen in two years. American cultivars, Williams and Lee, had smaller amount of fixed nitrogen than Japanese normal cultivars in each maturity group. Especially, the amount of fixed nitrogen in the latter half of the growing period, which had a close positive correlation with the nodule weight in the middle growing period, was smaller in the American cultivars.
RU-%Ndfa had a close positive correlation with the value estimated by
15N natural abundance method (
δ15N-%Ndfa). The
RU-%Ndfa was the highest in Sakukei 4 among all cultivars examined. The American cultivars had lower
RU-%Ndfa than the Japanese normal cultivars in each maturity group. We concluded that, under a high nitrate condition, the amount of fixed nitrogen was smaller and
RU-%Ndfa was lower in the American cultivars than in the Japanese normal cultivars, and the nodule weight in the middle growing period might contribute to these cultivar differences.
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