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hydrogen fertilizer



Plant, Cell & Environment
Volume 26 Issue 11 Page 1875  - November 2003
doi:10.1046/j.1365-3040.2003.01103.x

Hydrogen fertilization of soils - is this a benefit of legumes in rotation?
Z. DONG1, L. WU2, B. KETTLEWELL3, C. D. CALDWELL4 & D. B. LAYZELL3
ABSTRACT

Hydrogen gas (H2) is an obligate byproduct of the N2-fixing enzyme,
nitrogenase, claiming about 5-6% of the crops' net photosynthesis but
most, if not all of the H2 lost from nodules is oxidized by the soil
surrounding the root system of the plant. When soils not recently used
to support the growth of legumes were exposed to H2 gas at a rate and
duration similar to that of soil adjacent to legume nodules, the
fertility of the soil was enhanced in comparison with soil treated with
air. Under growth-chamber and field conditions, H2-treated soils
improved the growth performance of spring wheat, canola, barley and
soybean (non-symbiotic) when compared with untreated soils or with soils
pretreated with air. The dry weights of 4- to 7-week-old plants were
15-48% greater in the H2-treated soil, and in barley and spring wheat,
tiller number of 7-week-old plants were 36 and 48% greater in the
H2-treated soils. These findings may contribute to an explanation for
the persistence of H2 evolving associations in agricultural legume
symbioses selected for high yields (Uratsu et al., Crop Science 22,
600-602, 1982) and suggest that it may be possible to isolate, identify
and culture the micro-organisms that are responsible for at least some
of the benefits of legumes in crop rotation.

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