Effect of fungicide seed treatment on rhizobial survival and nodulation of chickpea

Abstract

Chickpea seeds are often treated with fungicides to prevent losses due to seed-borne pathogens and damping off. In addition, rhizobia are applied to the seeds to ensure effective nodulation and subsequent nitrogen fixation. Although reports are conflicting, several studies have conclusively shown that some of these chemicals are incompatible with Rhizobium. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that different species and strains of the same species of Rhizobium differed in their sensitivity toward various fungicides. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to examine the effect of four commercial fungicides, Apron, Thiram (Arrest 75W®), Crown and Captan on 1) the survival of Rhizobium ciceri strain BCF 32 inoculated onto chickpea seeds and 2) nodulation, nitrogen fixation and dry matter production of chickpea in the growth chamber.