This study was conducted in two successive seasons of 2006-2007 in a private farm at Kafr Dawood, Menoufiya, Egypt. It aimed to investigate the effect of inoculation of snap bean plants with2 2 biofertilizers (AM- mycorrhizal fungi, symbiotic N -fixers (Rhizobium sp.) and asymbiotic N –fixers (Azospirillum sp. and Azotobacter sp.) in addition to B. circulans on soil amended with natural alternatives of fertilizers like rock phosphate and feldspar and their effect on growth parameters, physiological and microbiolgical parameters. In addition, snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris, L.) fresh yield and its components. The obtained results indicated that the treatment No. 9 (mixture of AM- fungi, symbiotic and asymbiotic 2 N -fixers and Bacillus circulans + rock phosphate + feldspar) was superior in plant height, number of branches, number of nodules per plant and fresh yield (ton/fed) when compared with control and the 2 uninoculated plants. Inoculation with produced also the highest values of N -fixers and B. circulanspopulations in the rhizosphere of snap bean plants cultivated in soil amended with rock phosphate and feldspar and produced the highest infection percentage of AM- fungi. The interaction among the studied factors had significant effects on most studied characters. So, our study supports the new trend of using biofertilizers and natural alternatives as beneficial cheap sources of fertilization for sustainable agriculture.

Researcher Name: Massoud, O.N.; Ebtsam M. Morsy and Nadia H. El-Batanony

Newspaper: Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 3(2): 844-852

Year: 2009

KeyWords: Snap Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), N2-fixers