Foliar nutrient content responses to bio-inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Rhizobium on three herbaceous forage legumes

Smallholder livestock production in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa has been hampered by a lack of high-quality feed. As such, improving ruminant nutrition using optimized production of herbaceous forage legumes has been suggested. However, the production of forage legumes for livestock fe...

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Main Authors: Sanele Mpongwana, Alen Manyevere, Johnfisher Mupangwa, Conference Thando Mpendulo, Chuene Victor Mashamaite
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-10-01
Series:Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1256717/full
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author Sanele Mpongwana
Alen Manyevere
Johnfisher Mupangwa
Johnfisher Mupangwa
Conference Thando Mpendulo
Chuene Victor Mashamaite
author_facet Sanele Mpongwana
Alen Manyevere
Johnfisher Mupangwa
Johnfisher Mupangwa
Conference Thando Mpendulo
Chuene Victor Mashamaite
author_sort Sanele Mpongwana
collection DOAJ
description Smallholder livestock production in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa has been hampered by a lack of high-quality feed. As such, improving ruminant nutrition using optimized production of herbaceous forage legumes has been suggested. However, the production of forage legumes for livestock feed is poor in communal areas in the province due to the necessity to use high levels of chemical fertilizers to provide high-quality feed that meets animal nutrient demands. The current study aimed at investigating the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Rhizobium inoculation on the chemical composition of three herbaceous forage legumes, namely, Vigna unguiculata (cowpea), Lablab purpureus (lablab), and Mucuna pruriens (mucuna). The field trials were established over two growing seasons (2017/2018 and 2018/2019) at the University of Fort Hare Research Farm (South Africa) and were carried out as a 3 x 2 x 2 factorial experiment arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 12 treatments that were replicated 4 times. The 12 treatments included three legume species (cowpea, lablab, and mucuna), two AMF (with and without AMF inoculation), and two Rhizobia inoculations (with or without). The results showed that the dual inoculation of AMF and Rhizobia bacteria significantly (p < 0.05) increased the contents of crude protein, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber, hemicellulose, ash, magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe) of three herbaceous forage legumes. Furthermore, solo inoculation with AMF or Rhizobia bacteria resulted in substantially higher potassium (K), Ca, and Mg cation ions, and Ca/P, Zn, manganese (Mn), and Fe concentrations in forage legumes than in other treatments. In conclusion, the dual inoculation produced optimal nutrient accumulation in both growing seasons when compared to single inoculation and uninoculated forages. Therefore, this could assist in alleviating livestock malnutrition in smallholder farming.
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spelling doaj.art-2c89fe0a023d4d5683fd77fcc7b089a02023-10-25T10:41:08ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems2571-581X2023-10-01710.3389/fsufs.2023.12567171256717Foliar nutrient content responses to bio-inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Rhizobium on three herbaceous forage legumesSanele Mpongwana0Alen Manyevere1Johnfisher Mupangwa2Johnfisher Mupangwa3Conference Thando Mpendulo4Chuene Victor Mashamaite5Department of Livestock and Pasture Science, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South AfricaDepartment of Agronomy, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South AfricaDepartment of Livestock and Pasture Science, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South AfricaDepartment of Animal Production, Agribusiness and Economics, University of Namibia, Neudamm Campus, Windhoek, NamibiaDepartment of Livestock and Pasture Science, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South AfricaDepartment of Agronomy, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South AfricaSmallholder livestock production in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa has been hampered by a lack of high-quality feed. As such, improving ruminant nutrition using optimized production of herbaceous forage legumes has been suggested. However, the production of forage legumes for livestock feed is poor in communal areas in the province due to the necessity to use high levels of chemical fertilizers to provide high-quality feed that meets animal nutrient demands. The current study aimed at investigating the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Rhizobium inoculation on the chemical composition of three herbaceous forage legumes, namely, Vigna unguiculata (cowpea), Lablab purpureus (lablab), and Mucuna pruriens (mucuna). The field trials were established over two growing seasons (2017/2018 and 2018/2019) at the University of Fort Hare Research Farm (South Africa) and were carried out as a 3 x 2 x 2 factorial experiment arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 12 treatments that were replicated 4 times. The 12 treatments included three legume species (cowpea, lablab, and mucuna), two AMF (with and without AMF inoculation), and two Rhizobia inoculations (with or without). The results showed that the dual inoculation of AMF and Rhizobia bacteria significantly (p < 0.05) increased the contents of crude protein, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber, hemicellulose, ash, magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe) of three herbaceous forage legumes. Furthermore, solo inoculation with AMF or Rhizobia bacteria resulted in substantially higher potassium (K), Ca, and Mg cation ions, and Ca/P, Zn, manganese (Mn), and Fe concentrations in forage legumes than in other treatments. In conclusion, the dual inoculation produced optimal nutrient accumulation in both growing seasons when compared to single inoculation and uninoculated forages. Therefore, this could assist in alleviating livestock malnutrition in smallholder farming.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1256717/fullarbuscular mycorrhizal fungichemical constituentsdual inoculationforage nutrient optimizationlivestock malnutritionRhizobium
spellingShingle Sanele Mpongwana
Alen Manyevere
Johnfisher Mupangwa
Johnfisher Mupangwa
Conference Thando Mpendulo
Chuene Victor Mashamaite
Foliar nutrient content responses to bio-inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Rhizobium on three herbaceous forage legumes
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
chemical constituents
dual inoculation
forage nutrient optimization
livestock malnutrition
Rhizobium
title Foliar nutrient content responses to bio-inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Rhizobium on three herbaceous forage legumes
title_full Foliar nutrient content responses to bio-inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Rhizobium on three herbaceous forage legumes
title_fullStr Foliar nutrient content responses to bio-inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Rhizobium on three herbaceous forage legumes
title_full_unstemmed Foliar nutrient content responses to bio-inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Rhizobium on three herbaceous forage legumes
title_short Foliar nutrient content responses to bio-inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Rhizobium on three herbaceous forage legumes
title_sort foliar nutrient content responses to bio inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobium on three herbaceous forage legumes
topic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
chemical constituents
dual inoculation
forage nutrient optimization
livestock malnutrition
Rhizobium
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1256717/full
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