Paul Njiruh Nthakanio is formerly lecturer of Molecular Biology at Technical University of Kenya and currently Registrar (Planning, Administration and Finance) at University of Embu (Kenya).
Research Interests:
Breeding of hybrid rice through Genetic Emasculation and Gene silencing
Abstract
Rhizobia are known to induce nodulation signal in legumes. In this research Canadian Wonder common bean, Phaseolus valgaris was grown in different growth media up to flowering to test how soil nutrition control nodulation signal. The different growth medium were saw dust, pure sand, saw dust + sand, loam soil, saw dust + loam soil and pure tap water as the control. Plants were sacrificed to count the level of nodulation. Pure sand significantly induced higher number of nodulation than others and no nodulation was noticed in the sawdust and loam soil. The objective was to test effectiveness of different medium-growth environment in inducing nodulation in common bean. Conclusion is that soils like pure sand that was presumed to contain minimum nutrients induced nodulation signals better than the richer soils and pure tap water control samples. Therefore, maximum advantage of using beans as a fertility restoring crop is best realized in soils with little nutrient than well-nourished soils.