Biological and Social Feasibility of Sesbania Fallow Practice in Small Holder Agricultural Farms in Developing Countries: A Zambian Case Study

Many small holder farmers in developing countries face problems of declining soil fertility and crop yields and insufficient money to buy expensive inorganic fertilizers. The Sesbania fallow system, an agroforestry technology, seems to hold a key to these problems. Based on field studies in eastern Zambia, this paper reports that fallow system has the potential to improve and sustain soil productivity in the small holder farms. However, the paper also reports that the ability for subsistence farmers to adopt the Sesbania fallow system is affected by gender differences in resource allocation to productive resources and institutional, cultural, and social structural settings in which farmers exist and make decisions.     

Germination,Growth, and Nodulation of Sesbania rostrata Grown in Pb/Zn Mine Tailings

Sesbania rostrata in pure and amended Pb/Zn tailings. About 90% of seeds of S. rostrata germinated in pure Pb/Zn tailings, which contained high concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, and Cd. Although seedling growth suffered from the adverse environment of Pb/Zn tailings, they became established on tailings stands, in the greenhouse, as well as on the actual tailings dam, and completed their life cycle in 4 months. Dry matter production and nitrogen accumulation was 3200 kg/ha and 69.4 kg/ha, respectively in the actual tailings dam. Applying inorganic fertilizer to Pb/Zn tailings led to no obvious improvement in growth and nodulation of S. rostrata, while tailings amended by river sediment or domestic refuse rich in organic matter improved the growth and nodulation of the species. Azorhizobium caulinodans survived and formed N-fixing stem and root nodules in S. rostrata grown in pure Pb/Zn tailings with a nodule biomass exceeding 300 mg fresh matter per plant.     

Enhanced adaptability of Sesbania rostrata to Pb/Zn tailings via stem modulation

Sesbania rostrata is renowned for its stem nodulation, but the role of stem nodulation in the root nodulation and adaptation of S.rostrata to Pb/Zn-enriched tailings environment has been poorly understood.We investigated the effects of inoculating (with stem nodule treatment) and non-inoculating (without stem nodule treatment) Azorhizobium caulinodans on the growth, root nodulation, and N fixation of S.rostrata grown on three different types of soil substrata: Pb/Zn tailings, garden soil amended tailings, and garden soil.The results showed that plant height, stem basal diameter, biomass, chlorophyll content, nitrogen content and N-accumulation per plant were 2.3%-4.9%, 2.2%-7.7%, 27.8%-72.2%, 17.1%-23.5%, 12.3%-34.2%, and 43.1%-131.2% higher in treatments with stem nodule than those without stem nodule for the same soil substrate, respectively.With respect to soil substrata, all the measurements had consistently higher values in tailings than in amended tailings and garden soil, indicating that the poorer the soil condition, the greater the contribution of stem nodule.In contrast, the number and fresh weight of root nodules on plants without stem nodule were 6.9-11.6 times and 5.8-29.0 times higher than those with stem nodule, respectively, especially with respect to the plants grew on Pb/Zn tailings.In general, stem nodulation favored plant growth and nitrogen fixation of S.rostrata, but suppressed root nodulation.With the ability of stem and root nodulation, S.rostrata can be used as a pioneer plant species for remediation of Pb/Zn tailings.     

Accumulation, speciation and cellular localization of copper in Sesbania drummondii

Growth, accumulation and intracellular speciation and distribution of copper (Cu) in Sesbania drummondii was studied using scanning-electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). The growth of seedlings was assessed in terms of biomass accumulation. The growth of the seedling was enhanced by 73.5% at a low Cu concentration (50 mg l⁻¹) compared to the control treatment. Additionally, seedling growth was inhibited by 18% at 300 mg l⁻¹ Cu with respect to the control. Copper concentration in roots and shoots was increased with increasing Cu concentration in the growth solution. The accumulation of Cu was found to be higher in roots than in the shoots. At a concentration of 300 mg l⁻¹ Cu, the roots accumulated 27,440 mg Cu kg⁻¹ dry weight (dw) while shoots accumulated 1282 mg Cu kg⁻¹ dw. Seedlings were assessed for photosynthetic activity by measuring chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters: F_v/F_m and F_v/F₀ values. Photosynthetic integrity was not affected by any of the Cu treatments. The X-ray absorption spectroscopic (XAS) studies showed that Cu was predominantly present as Cu(II) in Sesbania tissue. In addition, from the XAS studies it was shown that the Cu exists in a mixture of different coordination states consisting of Cu bound to sugars and small organic acids with some possible precipitated copper oxide. From the EXAFS studies, the coordination of Cu was determined to have four equatorial oxygen(nitrogen) ligands at 1.96 Å and two axial oxygen ligands at 2.31 Å. Scanning-electron microscopy studies revealed the distribution of Cu within the seedlings tissues, predominantly accumulated in the cortical and vascular (xylem) regions of root tissues. In the stem, most of the Cu was found within the xylem tissue. However, the deposition of Cu within the leaf tissues was in the parenchyma. The present study demonstrates the mechanisms employed by S. drummondii for Cu uptake and its biotransformation.     

硝酸盐对毛萼田菁茎瘤固氮的影响

ＫＮＯ３对毛萼田菁（Ｓｅｓｂａｎｉａｒｏｓｔｒａｔａ）茎瘤和根瘤固氮的抑制作用与瘤中积累，碳水化合物减少（特别是蔗糖）以及豆血红蛋白（ｌｇｈｅｍｏｇｌｏｂｉｎ，Ｌｂ）浓度减少和功能受阻相关．经ＫＮＯ３处理的植株的茎瘤类菌体的呼吸作用和固氮活性明显下降．从ＫＮＯ３处理的植株茎瘤中提取的类菌体悬液加上未经ＫＮＯ３处理的正常Ｌｂ可提高固氮活性和耐ｐＯ２；加５ｍｍｏｌ／ＬＫＮＯ２于正常的茎瘤类菌体悬液和Ｌｂ反应体系，引起固氮活性和耐ｐＯ２都降低，证明是Ｌｂ功能受阻的重要因素．施ＫＮＯ３可能还导致茎瘤Ｏ２扩散的阻力增加．     

Promising role of plant hormones in translocation of lead in Sesbania drummondii shoots

Lead (Pb) accumulation in Sesbania drummondii shoots was enhanced by 654 and 415% in the presence of 100 microM IAA and 100 microM NAA, respectively, compared to control plants (Pb alone). However, when IAA or NAA was added along with EDTA, Pb accumulation further increased in shoots by 1349% and 1252%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopic observations revealed that Pb particles in both leaf and stem of Pb+EDTA+IAA and Pb+EDTA+NAA treated plants were concentrated in the region of vascular bundles. In root tissue, Pb particles were present between epidermis to stele region. Plant growth in both treatments (Pb+100 microM IAA and Pb+100 microM NAA) was comparable to control plants; however, it was significantly inhibited in the treatments containing Pb+EDTA and EDTA at concentrations of 10 microM of IAA or NAA. Moreover, the photosynthetic efficiency and strength of the treated plants were not affected in the presence of IAA or NAA and EDTA.     

Enhanced adaptability of Sesbania rostrata to Pb/Zn tailings via stem nodulation

Sesbania rostrata is wellknown for its stem nodulation, but the roles of stem nodulation in root nodulation and adaptation of S. rostrata to Pb/Zn-enriched tailings environment has been poorly understood. We investigated the e ects of inoculating (with stem nodule treatment) and non-inoculating (without stem nodule treatment) Azorhizobium caulinodans on the growth, root nodulation, and N fixation of S. rostrata grown on three di erent types of soil substrata: Pb/Zn tailings, garden soil amended tailings, and garden soil. The results showed that plant height, stem basal diameter, biomass, chlorophyll content, nitrogen content and N-accumulation per plant were 2.3%–4.9%, 2.2%–7.7%, 27.8%–72.2%, 17.1%–23.5%, 12.3%–34.2%, and 43.1%–131.2%, respectively, higher in treatments with stem nodule than those without stem nodule for the same soil substrate. With respect to soil substrata, all measurements had consistently higher values in tailings than in amended tailings and garden soil, indicating that the poorer the soil condition, the greater the contribution of stem nodule. In contrast, the number and fresh weight of root nodules on plants without stem nodule were 6.9–11.6 times and 5.8–29.0 times higher than those with stem nodule, respectively, especially with respect to the plants grew on Pb/Zn tailings. In general, stem nodulation favored plant growth and nitrogen fixation of S. rostrata, but suppressed root nodulation. With the ability of stem and root nodulation, S. rostrata can be used as a pioneer plant species for remediation of Pb/Zn tailings.     

水分和氧气对毛萼田菁茎瘤固氮作用的影响

水分剥夺引起毛萼田菁（Ｓｅｓｂａｎｉａｒｏｓｔｒａｔａ）茎瘤固氮活性的下降；水分剥夺还导致茎瘤类菌体固氮的最适Ｏ２分压（ｐＯ２）和呼吸强度的下降及茎瘤豆血红蛋白和细胞质可溶性蛋白含量的下降。测定水分剥夺的茎瘤在不同ｐＯ２下的固氮活性和茎瘤组织切片的显微观察，支持水分胁迫可使Ｏ２扩散阻力增大这一观点。测定不同ｐＯ２下离体茎瘤固氮活性以ｐＯ２为６０％最高；当把茎瘤切碎后，茎瘤皮层的扩散屏障作用降低或失去，最适ｐＯ２降至４０％，说明Ｏ２是茎瘤固氮作用的限制因子。     

Enhanced adaptability of Sesbania rostrata to Pb/Zn tailings via stem nodulation

Sesbania rostrata is wellknown for its stem nodulation, but the roles of stem nodulation in root nodulation and adaptation of S. rostrata to Pb/Zn-enriched tailings environment has been poorly understood. We investigated the effects of inoculating (with stem nodule treatment) and non-inoculating (without stem nodule treatment) Azorhizobium caulinodans on the growth, root nodulation, and N fixation of S. rostrata grown on three different types of soil substrata: Pb/Zn tailings, garden soil amended tailings, ...     

Responses of Sesbania rostrata and S. cannabina to Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd toxicities

Responses of Sesbania rostrata and S. cannabina to Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd toxicities were assessed by a seed-suspending seedbed(SSS) approach. The results showed that the SSS approach was suitable for testing the tolerance of a plant to the stress of toxic metals. The endpoints include seed germination success, straightened radicle and hypocotyl of the seedlings from the seeds. The measurements could be done easily and accurately. It was found that the elongation of radicle was the most sensitive indicator to the stress of heavy metals among the endpoints. When exposure to lower or medium concentrations of Pb, Zn, and Cd, the development of the lateral roots were favorable. Species of S. rostrata was more tolerant than S. cannabina to the heavy metals, especially to Zn and Cd. The ED50 of Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd were 32.90, .5.32, 4.40 and 12.00 μg/ml for S. rostrata,respectively, and they were 30.11, 2.87, 4.0.5 and 4.94 μg/ml respectively for S. cannabina.