Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science, Vol. 59, No.

4, pp 362-367 (2011)

Integrated Use of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers with Bio-inoculants

on Yield, Soil Fertility and Quality of Apple (Malus domestica)
S.R. Singh*1, M.Y. Zargar, G.R. Najar, F.A. Peer and M.I. Ishaq
Department of Soil Science, Regional Research Station, SKUAST-K, Wadura,
Sopore, 193 201, Jammu and Kashmir

A study was conducted during 2007 and 2008 on integrated use of organic and inorganic fertilizers with bio-
inoculants on yield, quality of apple (cv. Red Delicious) and soil fertility. Highest fruit yield (166 kg tree-1)
was recorded in recommended dose of fertilizer (100% NPK) treatment (T2) followed by 100% NK+50% P +
arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (T4) and increased fruit yield to the tune of 34 and 29% over control, respectively.
Similarly, N and K content in leaves and N, P and K content in fruits were recorded maximum in recommended
dose of fertilizers (RDF) (T2) but highest P content in leaves was observed in treatment comprising of
vermicompost @ 10 kg tree-1 + Azobacter + Azospirillum + arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (T13). Fruit quality
attributes, in terms of total soluble salt (TSS), total sugars and ascorbic acid were recorded maximum with T13
treatment which was significantly higher than T2 whereas, maximum acidity was found in control (T1)
Downloaded From IP - [Link] on dated 6-Apr-2015

treatment. Maximum soil organic carbon (13.0 g kg-1) was recorded under T9 followed by T7 (12.7 g kg-1) which
was significantly higher over application of inorganic fertilizers with and without integration of biofertilizers.
Members Copy, Not for Commercial Sale

Treatment T2 also recorded highest available soil N and K, whereas highest available soil P was observed
[Link]

under T13. The build-up of available soil P due to T13 and T9 treatments was 13 and 11% over initial status of
P, respectively. Conjunctive use of biofertilizers with vermicompost proved to be superior to FYM in terms of
yield and yield attributes of fruit, nutrient content in leaves and fruits, quality of fruit and soil fertility.
However, soil organic carbon was found to be maximum in the FYM-treated plots.

Key words: Apple, bio-inoculants, organic manures, yield, soil fertility, quality, red delicious

Apple is the main fruit crop of temperate region. In ter pollution but also increased the incidences of dis-
India, Jammu and Kashmir and Himanchal Pradesh ease, insect and pest attacks reducing the productiv-
are the principal apple-growing states but Jammu and ity and quality of fruit crops (Peck et al. 2006).
Kashmir occupies first position in apple production in Under these circumstances, integrated use of organic
India with 1.33 lakh ha of land, 13.32 Mt production manures, inorganic fertilizers and biofertilizers has
and 10.1 t ha-1 productivity. Red Delicious is the most assumed great importance for sustainable production
popular cultivar of Kashmir valley as table fruit due and maintaining soil health. The organic manures and
to its shape, colour, quality and marketability but has biofertilizers not only supply macro- and micronutri-
the disadvantages of low yield per unit area, high ents, but also improve the soil physical, chemical and
production cost, alternate bearing and highly suscep- biological health under apple cultivation (Goh and
tibility to disease. Inadequate and unbalanced use of Ridgen 1997).
inorganic fertilizers accompanied with restricted use Inoculants of Azotobacter and Azospirillum ei-
of organic manures and biofertilizers have made the ther sole or in combination have been shown to im-
soils not only deficient in certain nutrients, but also prove nitrogen nutrition of plants through biological
deteriorated the soil health. Use of excessive inor- N2 fixation and also secretion of some growth pro-
ganic fertilizers has not only resulted in soil and wa- moting substances which affect the growth, nutrition
and microbial activity in the rhizosphere (Zayed 1999).
*Corresponding author (Email: shivramsingh22@[Link])
Present address
The phosphate solubilizing microorganisms
1
Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres, (Pseudomonas) play an important role in conversion
Barrackpore, Kolkata of unavailable inorganic P (Ca-P, Fe-P and Al-P) into
 2011] INTEGRATED USE OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC FERTILIZERS IN APPLE 363

available inorganic P forms through secretion of or- and MOP 1500 g tree-1 as per treatment in a shallow
ganic acids and enzymes. Arbuscular mycorrhizal ring (15-20 cm depth) made around the plant radius
fungi (AMF), on the other hand are ubiquitous in of 75-90 cm. Remaining half dose of N (532 g urea
soils throughout the world and play an important role tree-1) was applied 3 weeks after fruit set in T2 treat-
in affecting the plant growth through mobilization of ment. Similarly, in case of T3 and T5 treatment, N
nutrients. Symbiotic beneficial effects of AM fungi was applied in two splits doses as per treatment.
have been reported in many fruit crops such as citrus Farmyard manure (FYM) and vermicompost were also
(Cruz et al. 2000), avocado, banana and grapevine applied a fortnight before flowering @ 20 and 10 kg
(Sonawane et al. 1998). Inoculation of Azotobacter, tree -1, respectively. Azotobacter chroococcum and
Azospirillum and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) Azospirillum brasilense, were isolated from the roots
either alone or in integration with organic or inor- and rhizosphere soils of apple orchards, identified,
ganic fertilizers on yield, nutrient content and quality and screened on the basis of certain biochemical tests
of apple under rainfed conditions has not been stud- under present study. The respective microbial sus-
ied at large. Present two years’ investigation was, pension of biofertilizers (containing 108 cells mL-1
therefore, conducted to assess integrated effect of broths) was applied @ 100 mL tree-1 as per treat-
organic and inorganic fertilizers with biofertilizers on ments. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi isolated from
yield, nutrient content, fertility and quality of apple. the rhizosphere soil of apple orchard were maintained
on maize and wheat roots under sterilized conditions
Materials and Methods (1:1 ratio of soil and sand). About 100 g AMF culture
A field experiment was conducted on 18-20 tree-1 containing colonized root segments, external
years-old (bearing) apple (cv. Red Delicious) orchard mycelium, and 10-13 viable AM fungal spores g in-
planted under high density (4 m × 4 m) during 2007
Downloaded From IP - [Link] on dated 6-Apr-2015

oculum-1 were spread around exposed root rhizo-

and 2008. The orchard site is situated about 5 km sphere of apple. For biofertilizers and AMF inocula-
Members Copy, Not for Commercial Sale

away from the Regional Research Station, SKUAST-

tion, the top layer of soil was removed to a depth of
[Link]

K, Wadura, Sopore, Kashmir (J&K) at an altitude of

5-10 cm, exposing the newly formed feeder roots
1524 m above mean sea level (amsl), 34°17′ N lati-
when root system was active and new roots were
tude and 74°33′ E longitude. The climate is temperate
formed (a fort night before flowering) without dam-
with moderately hot during summer (average temp.
aging the root system. Each inoculum was mixed
during mid May to August of two years 34 °C) and
with moist soil, FYM and vermicompost applied uni-
very cold in winter (-5.6 °C in 2007 and -7.0 °C in
formly over it and later covered with soil. The nutri-
2008). The orchard soil was silty-clay loam in tex-
ture (Eutrochrept), neutral in reaction, high organic ent composition of farmyard manure and
carbon (11 g kg-1), medium available N (356 kg ha-1), vermicompost on dry weight basis was 0.61, 0.23
available P (18.8 kg ha-1) and K (248 kg ha-1) were and 0.58% and 2.07, 0.87 and 1.31% of N, P and K,
recorded before initiation of experiment in February, respectively. The uniform cultural practices were ap-
2007. The treatments were: T1 - Control, T2 - recom- plied to the experimental trees. After fruit harvest,
mended dose of fertilizers as per package of practice yield of different grades of fruits as well as size and
(100% NPK) ([Link] g Urea: DAP: MOP weight of fruits of randomly selected (20 fruits trees-1)
tree-1), T3 - 50% N + 100% PK + Azotobacter, T4 - were recorded. Chemical analysis of fruits was done
100% NK + 50% P + arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi with the standard procedure of AOAC (1980). Leaves
(AMF), T5 -50% NP + 100% K + Azotobacter + samples (leaf blade + petiole) were collected from
Azospirillum + AMF, T6 - farmyard manure @ 20 kg the middle portion of current season’s growth of
tree-1 (FYM20), T7 - FYM20 + Azotobacter, T8 - FYM20 fruiting shoot in last week of July for nutrient esti-
+ AMF, T9 - FYM20 + Azotobacter + Azospirillum + mation as per standard procedure. The soil samples
AMF, T10 -vermicompost @ 10 kg tree-1 (VC10), T11 - were collected, processed and analyzed for organic C
vermicompost @ 10 kg trees-1 + Azotobacter, T12 - and available N, P and K as per standard methods
vermicompost @ 10 kg tree -1 +AMF and T 13- (Jackson 1973).
vermicompost @ 10 kg tree -1 + Azotobacter +
Azospirillum + AMF. The experiment was laid out in Results and Discussion
a randomized block design with above-mentioned 13
treatments and 3 replications. Half dose of N and full Yield Attributes, Yield and Quality of Fruits
dose of P and K fertilizers were applied to the soil a Yield attributes of fruit viz., fruit length, fruit
fort-night before flowering as: urea 533, DAP 650 diameter, fruit weight, specific volume and gravity of
 364 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN SOCIETY OF SOIL SCIENCE [Vol. 59

Table 1. Effect of different treatments on fruit yield attributes, yield and quality of apple cv. Red Delicious (pooled data of
2007-08)

Treatment Fruit yield attributes and yield Fruit quality

Fruit Fruit Fruit Specific Specific Fruit Acidity TSS Total Ascorbic
length diameter weight volume gravity yield (%) (0 B) sugars acid
(cm) (cm) (g tree-1) (ml) (kg tree-1) (%) (mg 100
g-1 pulp)

T1 5.1 5.7 121 134 0.78 124 0.25 11.1 7.19 6.33
T2 6.2 7.1 158 179 0.96 166 0.24 12.7 8.04 7.38
T3 5.7 6.5 145 164 0.88 152 0.22 12.4 8.13 6.84
T4 5.9 6.8 154 170 0.90 160 0.23 12.4 8.10 7.01
T5 5.8 6.6 149 167 0.90 155 0.22 12.6 8.22 7.09
T6 5.5 6.3 139 159 0.85 146 0.21 12.8 8.26 8.25
T7 5.6 6.3 142 161 0.86 150 0.21 12.9 8.32 8.32
T8 5.5 6.3 141 160 0.86 148 0.21 12.8 8.29 8.27
T9 5.7 6.4 147 164 0.88 154 0.21 13.0 8.37 8.41
T 10 5.6 6.5 143 163 0.87 151 0.21 13.0 8.44 8.51
T 11 5.7 6.6 146 166 0.88 153 0.21 13.2 8.48 8.56
T 12 5.7 6.5 144 164 0.88 152 0.21 13.1 8.46 8.49
T 13 5.9 6.8 154 169 0.99 158 0.19 13.6 8.55 8.61
CD (P=0.05) 0.48 0.60 10.8 11.0 0.07 14 0.00 0.3 0.26 0.26

apple significantly increased over control due to ap- hancing the yield and yield attributes of apple as com-
Downloaded From IP - [Link] on dated 6-Apr-2015

plication of organic manures and inorganic fertilizers pared to the 20 kg FYM tree-1. This might be due to
with and without inoculation of biofertilizers. Maxi- vermicompost containing high content of nutrients
Members Copy, Not for Commercial Sale

mum fruit size, fruit weight, specific volume and which increased the availability of nutrients.
[Link]

specific gravity were recorded with the application Data on acidity, the most important characteris-
of recommended dose of fertilizer as per package of tic of fruit quality of apple shows that all the treat-
practice (T2) followed by T13 in most of the cases ments significantly reduced the acidity over control
(Table 1). Similarly, maximum fruit yield was also (Table 1). The highest acidity (0.25%) was recorded
recorded under T2 treatment followed by 100% NK + under control whereas lowest (0.19%) acidity was
50% P + arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (T4) and in- recorded under VC10 + Azotobacter + Azospirillum +
creased the fruit yield to the tune of 34 and 29% AMF (T13) treatment. This might be due to low N
over control, respectively. The higher uptake and ac- content under FYM and vermicompost treated fruit
cumulation of nutrients in the tissues and fruits of as compared to inorganic treatment resulting in lower
apple with recommended dose of NPK might have N:Ca ratio. This has positive correlation with ethyl-
occurred due to stimulation of the rates of various ene production, and it induces water core incidence
physiological and metabolic process resulting in bet- along with loss of cell to cell adhesion, hence, in-
ter size, weight and fruit yield of apple. These results creased sweetness and firmness of apple fruit (Drake
are in accordance with the findings of Treder (2007). et al. 2002; Peck et al. 2006). Application of inor-
Application of inorganic fertilizers with and without ganic fertilizers with or without integration of
biofertilizers inoculation showed highest response in biofertilizers enhanced the acidity in comparison to
respect of fruit attributes as compared to the applica- application of organic manures. These results cor-
tion of organic manures with and without integration roborate the findings of Macit et al. (2007). Highest
of biofertilizers. This may be due to fact that organic total soluble salts (13.60B), total sugars (8.5%) and
manures released macro- and micronutrients at very ascorbic acid content (8.6 mg 100 g-1 pulp) were
slow rate and in small quantities which could not recorded in T13 treatment followed by T11 (Table 1).
sustain optimum supply of nutrients to the trees dur- Application of vermicompost either alone or in com-
ing vegetative and reproductive growth period. Apple bination with biofertilizers showed remarkable effect
produced under organic orchard management has of fruits quality than the application of FYM and
lower fruit weight due to the smaller cells and the RDF. However, inoculation of biofertilizers either with
less intercellular spaces (do-Amarante et al. 2008). organic manures or inorganic fertilizers could not
Between FYM and vermicompost, application of 10 show remarkable effect on the quality of apple fruit
kg vermicompost tree-1 was more effective in en- (Roussos and Gasparatos 2009).
 2011] INTEGRATED USE OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC FERTILIZERS IN APPLE 365

Table 2. Effect of different treatments on nutrient content in leaves, fruits and fertility status of apple cv. Red Delicious (pooled
data of 2007-08)

Treatment Nutrient content in leaves Nutrient content in fruit Fertility status after harvest
N P K N P K Organic C Available N Available P Available K
(%) (g kg-1) kg ha-1

T1 1.84 0.19 1.28 0.35 0.024 0.46 10.8 302 15.4 212
T2 2.43 0.24 1.83 0.46 0.042 0.59 11.3 365 20.6 260
T3 2.24 0.23 1.70 0.43 0.040 0.57 11.0 348 19.3 250
T4 2.34 0.23 1.73 0.45 0.037 0.58 11.2 360 18.9 256
T5 2.29 0.23 1.69 0.44 0.038 0.58 11.1 352 19.3 254
T6 2.11 0.24 1.60 0.43 0.036 0.55 12.5 340 20.2 241
T7 2.21 0.24 1.63 0.43 0.037 0.55 12.7 343 20.4 245
T8 2.18 0.24 1.60 0.43 0.038 0.55 12.5 342 20.6 244
T9 2.24 0.25 1.65 0.44 0.038 0.56 13.0 348 20.8 248
T 10 2.24 0.24 1.66 0.44 0.037 0.56 11.7 346 20.7 246
T 11 2.30 0.25 1.68 0.44 0.037 0.56 11.8 349 20.9 249
T 12 2.26 0.25 1.67 0.44 0.038 0.56 11.9 348 21.0 248
T 13 2.34 0.26 1.72 0.45 0.039 0.58 12.0 356 21.2 256
CD (P=0.05) 0.19 0.02 0.14 0.02 0.004 0.0 1.00 13 1.2 12.7
Initial value 10.9 355 18.8 248

Nutrient Content in Leaves and Fruits (1.83%) and fruits (0.59%) was recorded in T2 fol-
Application of organic and inorganic fertilizers lowed by T4 and T13. These results are in conformity
Downloaded From IP - [Link] on dated 6-Apr-2015

with and without inoculation of biofertilizer signifi- with those reported by El-Boray et al. (2007).
cantly increased the N, P and K content in leaves and
Members Copy, Not for Commercial Sale
[Link]

fruits of apple over control (Table 2). Treatment T2 Soil Fertility

recorded the highest N content in leaves (2.43%) and Application of organic and inorganic fertilizers
fruits (0.46%) followed by T 4 and T13 in case of with and without integration of biofertilizers signifi-
leaves and followed by T13 in case of fruits. The cantly affected the soil fertility of apple orchard
highest P content in leaves (0.26%) was recorded in (Table 2). Application of farmyard manure with and
T13 followed by T12 and T9 whereas maximum P con- without inoculation of biofertilizer significantly im-
tent in fruit (0.042%) was observed in T2 treatment proved the soil organic carbon (SOC) content over
followed by T3. Maximum N content in leaves and control. Treatment T9 recorded maximum SOC (13.0
fruits was under T2 treatment could be attributed to g kg-1) followed by T7 (12.7 g kg-1) which was sig-
the proper supply of this nutrients during the growth nificantly higher over application of inorganic fertiliz-
period which ensured the uniform translocation of N ers with and without integration of biofertilizers and
in plant (Drake et al. 2002). Nutrient use efficiency increase was 19 and 16% more over initial level of
is improved if inorganic N fertilizers rather than green 10.9 g kg-1, respectively. Improvement in SOC in
manures are used and this could be the reason for the FYM and VC-treated plots might be ascribed direct
higher N concentration found in the fruits of the addition of organic matter through FYM and VC and
conventionally managed orchard (Torstensson et al. recycling of organic materials in the form of crop
2006). Inoculation of Azotobacter, Azospirillum and residues like roots and leaf fall. Higher SOC with
AMF with inorganic fertilizers slightly improved the incorporation of organic manures, FYM and crop resi-
N and P content in leaves and fruits. Similar findings dues etc. has also been reported by El-Boray et al.
were reported by Mahmoud and Mahmoud (1999) (2007) and Verma et al. (2009).
and Sharma et al. (2005). Further, inoculation of Available N, P and K were significantly affected
arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improved the P content due to application of organic and inorganic fertilizers
in leaves by enhancing their hyphal growth which with and without integration of biofertilizers over con-
increased absorbing surface of root for exploitation trol. Treatment T2 recorded maximum available N
of P from the bulk soil (Kandula et al. 2006). Effect (366 kg ha-1) followed by T4 (360 kg ha-1) whereas
of inorganic fertilizer application with and without highest available P (21.2 kg P ha-1) was recorded in
inoculation of biofertilizers was more apparent in case T13 treatment. Application of RDF (T2) improved the
of K content in leaves and fruits followed by VC and build-up of available N by 3% over the initial level of
FYM (Table 2). The highest K content in leaves N (Table 2). Application of vermicompost with and
 366 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN SOCIETY OF SOIL SCIENCE [Vol. 59

without integration of biofertilizers proved to be su- Drake, S.R., Raese, J.T. and Smith T.J. (2002) Time of ni-
perior to FYM in respect of build-up of available N trogen application and its influence on Golden De-
and P in the soil. The build-up of available P in soil licious apple yield and fruit quality. Journal of
due to T13 and T9 treatment was 13 and 11%, respec- Plant Nutrition 25, 143-153.
tively over initial status of P. This might be due to Cruz, A.F., Ishii, T., and Kadoya, K. (2000) Distribution of
release of organic acids (chiefly malic and citric acid) vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal hyphae in the
from decomposition of organic manures which helps rhizosphere of trifoliate orange and bahia grass
in solubilization of unavailable P. Inoculation of seedling under an intercropping system. Journal of
arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) provides condu- Japanese Society for Horticulture Sciences 69, 237-
cive physical environment which helps in mobiliza- 242.
tion of P into available P and also prevent the precipi- do-Amarante, C.V.T., Steffens, C.A. Luiz-Mafra, A. and
tation and fixation of applied phosphorus and keep it Albuquerque, J.A. (2008) Yield and fruit quality of
in an available form (do-Amarante et al. 2008). Ef- apple from conventional and organic production
fect of inorganic fertilizer application was more ap- system. Pesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileria 43, 333-
parent than the application of vermicompost with in- 340.
tegration of biofertilizers (T13) which was at par with
El-Boray, M.S., Mostafa, M.F., Iraqi, M.A. and Mohamed,
each other whereas application of 10 kg A.A. (2007) Some recent trends of apple trees fer-
vermicompost tree-1 was more apparent than 20 kg tilization. World Journal of Agricultural Sciences
farmyard manure tree-1 in respect of available K in 2, 403-411.
the soil. Inoculation of biofertilizers either sole or in
combination with VC and FYM showed similar effect Goh, K.M. and Ridgen, G.E. (1997) Comparison of under
on the availability of K. Highest available K (260 kg story biological nitrogen fixation and biomass pro-
Downloaded From IP - [Link] on dated 6-Apr-2015

duction in grassed-down conventional and organic

ha -1) was recorded under T 2 followed by T13 and
apple orchards in Canterbury, New Zealand. Com-
increase was to the tune of 5 and 3% over initial level
Members Copy, Not for Commercial Sale

munications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis

of soil K, respectively.
[Link]

28, 1103-1116.

Conclusions Jackson, M.L. (1973) Soil Chemical Analysis. Prentice

From the above results it is concluded that ap- Hall of India Pvt, Ltd, New Delhi.
plication of organic manure with integration of bio- Kandula, D.R., Jones, E.E., Stewart, A. and Horner, I.J.
inoculants, markedly improved the fruit quality but (2006) Colonization of apple roots by arbuscular
fruit yield and fertility status of soil increased only mycorrhizae in specific apple-replant disease-af-
marginally. However, application of recommended fected soil. New Zealand Plant Protection 59, 92-
dose of fertilizer as per package of practice achieved 96.
the highest fruit yield and improved fertility status
Macit, I., Koc, A., Guler, S. and Deligoz, I. (2007) Yield,
but was slightly inferior in fruit quality. Therefore, it quality and nutritional status of organically and
is recommended that the integration of inorganic fer- conventionally grown strawberry cultivars. Asian
tilizers with organic manures and biofertilizers can Journal of Plant Sciences 6, 1131-1136.
achieve the highest fruit yield with improved fruit
quality and soil fertility status of apple. Mahmoud, H.M. and Mahmoud, F.A.F. (1999) Studies on
effect of some biofertilizers on growth of peach
seedlings and root rot disease incidence. Egyptian
Acknowledgments
Journal of Horticulture 26, 7-18.
Authors are thankful to Indian Council of Agri-
culture Research, New Delhi for providing assistance Peck, G.M., Andrews, P.K. Reganold, J.P. and Fellman,
under Horticulture Technology Mini Mission Project J.K. (2006) Apple orchard productivity and fruit
(MM-I) to carry out this investigation. Also thanks quality under organic, conventional and integrated
are due to Dr Farooq Ahmad Peer, I/C, Department management. Hortscience 41, 99-107.
of Horticulture for providing technical support for to Roussos, P.A. and Gasparatos, D. (2009) Apple tree
carrying out this investigation. growth and overall fruit quality under organic and
conventional orchard management. Scientia
References Horticulturae 123, 247-252.
AOAC (1980) Official Methods of Analysis of Analytical Sharma, S.D., Sharma, Naveen, Sharma, C.L., Sood, R. and
Chemists. Benjamin Franklin Station, Washington, Singh, R.P. (2005) Studies on correlations between
D C. endomycorrhizal and Azotobacter population with
 2011] INTEGRATED USE OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC FERTILIZERS IN APPLE 367

growth, yield and soil nutrient status of apple Treder, W. (2007) Influence of fertigation with nitrogen
(Malus domestica Borkh) orchards in Himanchal and a complete fertilizer on growth and yielding of
Pradesh. Acta Horticulture 696, 283-287. ‘Gala’ apple trees. Journal of Fruit and Ornamen-
tal Plant Research 5, 143-154.
Sonawane, R.B., Konde, B.K., Indi, D.V. and Wani, P.V.
(1998) Symbiosis between grapevine varieties and Verma, M.L. Charan, Singh and Bhardwaj, S.P. (2009) Ef-
fect of biofertilizers on soil moisture, nutrient sta-
AMF fungi for uptake of nitrogen and phosphorus.
tus and fruit productivity under organic cultivation
Journal of Maharastra Agricultural Universities
of apple in Himanchal Pradesh. Indian Journal of
22, 184-186. Soil Conservation 37, 201-205.
Torstensson, G., Aronsson, H. and Bergstrom, L (2006) Zayed, G. (1999) Evaluation of N2 fixation efficiency of
Nutrient use efficiency and leaching of organic and Azotobacter in alginate-encapsulated and free cell
conventional cropping systems in Sweden. systems. Egyptian Journal of Microbiology 34, 45-
Agronomy Journal 98, 603-615. 55.

Received June 2010; Accepted July 2011

Downloaded From IP - [Link] on dated 6-Apr-2015
Members Copy, Not for Commercial Sale
[Link]