Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various aerobic bacteria of the genus Rhizobium that form root nodules in leguminous plants, such as clover and beans, where they establish a symbiotic relationship in which the bacteria obtain carbon and energy from the plant while supplying the plant with nitrogen by nitrogen fixation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun biology Any of various bacteria, of the genus Rhizobium, that form nodules on the roots of legumes and fix nitrogen

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the type genus of Rhizobiaceae; usually occur in the root nodules of legumes; can fix atmospheric oxygen

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin Rhizobium, genus name : rhizo– + Greek bios, life; see gwei- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • SYMBIOSIS: A. holosericea forms nodules with rhizobium and develops endomycorrhizal associations.

    Chapter 10 1996

  • Often one rhizobium strain will provide some biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) but will be less effective than another.

    6: Soil health and plant nutrition 1996

  • Greatly stimulated growth has been reported when seedlings were inoculated with a selected rhizobium and the endomycorrhizal fungus, Glomus mosseae (Cornet and Diem 1982).

    Chapter 10 1996

  • Until recently, it was difficult to procure just the right rhizobium or mycorrhiza for a particular tree species and site.

    Chapter 5 1996

  • But if you use a leguminous plant, the rhizobium can produce almost all the nitrogen the plant needs, and not only that, but it leaves the soil enriched with nitrogen.

    Castro Speaks to Academy of Sciences 1992

  • We are producing rhizobium to inoculate the seed of this leguminous plant; if we are successful with this experiment, which we are conducting on a certain scale and with certain information, next year we could plant thousands of caballerias.

    Castro Addresses UJC Congress Closing Session 1992

  • As you know, leguminous plants have their own bacteria, which also has to respond to the soil to fix nitrogen from the air through the rhizobium.

    Castro Speaks to Academy of Sciences 1992

  • The most important aspect of tropical legumes is their ability to fix P in association with rhizobium atmospheric dinitrogen which becomes available to subsequent crops in rotational cropping systems.

    1. Soil constraints on sustainable plant production in the tropics. 1992

  • But the soybeans can be planted in April and May, when you grind the cane, with the appropriate applications of rhizobium, because we do not have to depend only on what is in the soil.

    Castro Speaks to Academy of Sciences 1992

  • If you apply the rhizobium, apply the rhizobium cultures to the seeds, those seeds fix much more nitrogen.

    Castro Speaks to Academy of Sciences 1992

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