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Ingredient

Rhizobia inoculant

Also known as: Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, legume inoculant, N-fixing bacteria

Live cultures of nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria — the right ingredient when planting legumes (clovers, vetches, peas, beans, lentils, soybeans, cowpeas, alfalfa) into soil that hasn't grown that legume species before. Different *Rhizobium* and *Bradyrhizobium* species are specific to different legume genera; matching the inoculant to the crop matters. Without inoculation, a new-to-the-field legume produces little or no nitrogen — the plant grows but doesn't fix. Pre-inoculated seed is widely available; powder, peat, and granular inoculants are also sold. Cheap (~$5–15 per acre cost) and the single highest-leverage input for any legume planting.

Inputs / outputs

  • Form: seed-coating slurry, peat-based powder, granular soil-applied
  • Application: mix with seed at planting (slurry/powder) or band into furrow (granular)
  • Specificity: match the inoculant strain to the legume crop — wrong strain = no nodulation
  • Storage: living bacteria; refrigerate, use within 1 season of purchase

Solves / unlocks

  • 60–200+ lb N/acre fixation in legume cover crops (without inoculant: ~10–30 lb)
  • Successful first-time legume establishment in fields with no prior history of that crop
  • Multi-strain mixes for cover-crop cocktails with several legume species
  • Long-term resident populations (once established, the strain persists for years)

Constraints

  • Use fresh — bacteria die in storage; expired inoculant is useless.
  • Avoid acidic seed treatments — most fungicide seed coatings kill rhizobia; if treating seed for fungus, apply rhizobia separately at planting.
  • Match the strain — clover inoculant on cowpea = no fixation. Buy the right strain.
  • Hot weather kills inoculant on the seed surface — plant inoculated seed within hours, not days.

Source

  • Verdesian (formerly Nitragin): https://www.vlsci.com/
  • Generic agricultural-supply distributors (most carry pre-mixed strains)

See also

Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.

  • Member of: [[ingredient]]
  • Combines with: [[crimson-clover]] · [[hairy-vetch]] · [[cowpea]]

What links here, and how

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Scientific

combines with

  • Cowpea needs Bradyrhizobium specific to cowpeas; the standard cowpea-pea inoculant
  • Crimson clover needs Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii; inoculate seed before sowing if clovers are new to the field
  • Hairy vetch needs Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae; inoculate seed before sowing on first rotation

contains

parallels

combines

6 inbound links · 4 outbound