Quote:
Originally Posted by
Hi. I'm trying to grow various ornamental legumes (Caesalpinia,
Calliandra, Dalea) that aren't native to where I live (northern New
Mexico), though some might be found within 50 or 100 miles. Am I right
in thinking the following things?
1. The nitrogen-fixing bacteria that are symbiotic with these plants
won't occur in my soil.
2. They won't be included in commercial inoculants either.
3. My plants will not fix nitrogen.
4. They'll need at least as much nitrogen in their fertilizer as
non-leguminous plants (and my soil, like most in New Mexico, is very
low in nitrogen).
Thanks.
--
Jerry Friedman
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Hey Jerry,
the most common nitrogen fixing bacteria is azospirillum brasilense. It should work where you are in NM because it works best when soil temp is above 60F. Azosprillum doesn't only fix nitrogen, it improves plant hormone growth (naturally of course) and improves initial root structure by up to 300%. The leader in the field lives in NM actually; an Israeli called Dr Yoav Bashan and he's got some great research papers available (much easier to get if you're a student
)
but for other information, i came across this site when looking for mycorrhiza (which works phenomenally well in the soil conditions of places like NM) reforest.com/desk/questions/6670/Azospirillum+brasilense+for+landscape+management