Why should rhizobia be applied to legume seeds through the use of inoculants?
Rhizobia are present in many soils since they are natural members of the soil microbial community. However, not all soils contain efficient rhizobia in adequate numbers to establish an optimal association with your legume culture. In many cases legume seeds have to be inoculated before sowing in order to assure that an adequate number of high-quality rhizobia will be available to the plant root.
