Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

WEED MANAGEMENT AND BIOLOGICAL NITROGEN FIXATION IN PULSES — A REVIEW

Jeenie, Poonam Sharma and H.S. Sekhon

Abstract

Pulses are an important source of protein for human and animal nutrition especially in underdeveloped and developing countries. They also play a vital role in farming systems as they fix atmospheric nitrogen, which helps in restoring soil fertility. Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) accounts for 65 per cent of the nitrogen currently utilized in agriculture and is of increasing importance to improve soil health and crop productivity. Legume-Rhizobium symbiosis has been examined extensively and several biotic and abiotic factors are known to influence the efficiency of fixation.The use of herbicides to overcome the economic losses in pulses due to the presence of weeds is also one of the potentially limiting factors.These herbicides may affect nodulation and BNF. In this paper an attempt has been made to review the effects of herbicides on BNF in pulses since the studies on this aspect are meager.