Interaction of Rhizobium sp. with Toxin-Producing Fungus in Culture Medium and in a Tropical Soil.

Experiments were conducted to determine the influence of a toxin-producing fungus on a rhizobial population in yeast-mannitol medium and in a tropical soil. The fungus, which was isolated from a highly weathered soil (Tropeptic Eutrustox), was identified as a Metarhizum sp. The density of rhizobial populations established in yeast-mannitol medium in the absence of the fungus was 10 times higher than that established in its presence. However, the fungus did not exert similar antagonistic influence on the rhizobial population incubated with it in the sterilized test soil. Rhizobial growth activity in yeast-mannitol medium was also insensitive to the presence of the fungus when the medium was amended with 1% (wt/vol) kaolinite or montmorillonite. The results suggest that clay minerals may be responsible for protecting rhizobia against toxin-producing fungi in soil.

Population of aerobic heterotrophic nitrogen-fixing bacteria associated with wetland and dryland rice.

Nitrogen-fixing activity and populations of nitrogen-fixing bacteria associated with two varieties of rice grown in dryland and wetland conditions were measured at various growth stages during the dry season. Acetylene reduction activities were measured both in the field and for the hydroponically grown rice, which was transferred from the field to water culture 1 day before assay. The activities measured by both methods were higher in wetland than in dryland rice. The population of nitrogen-fixing heterotrophic bacteria associated with rhizosphere soil, root, and basal shoots was determined by the most probable number method with semisolid glucose-yeast extract and semisolid malate-yeast extract media. The number of nitrogen-fixing bacteria was higher in wetland conditions than in dryland conditions. The difference between two conditions was most pronounced in the population associated with the basal shoot. The glucose medium gave higher counts than did the malate medium. Colonies were picked from tryptic soy agar plates, and their nitrogen-fixing activity was tested on a semisolid glucose-yeast extract medium. The incidence of nitrogen-fixing bacteria among aerobic heterotrophic bacteria in association with rhizosphere soil, root, and basal shoots was much lower in dryland rice than in wetland rice.