Must inoculants conform to particular standards?
While the inoculants sold
in different countries may actually have come from the same production
facility, the regulations they are subject to can be very different.
In the U.S., inoculant standards are those imposed by the producer,
and may vary between companies. In contrast inoculants produced
for sale in Canada, Australia and a number of other counties must
meet specific standards and undergo evaluation before being approved
for sale. Some aspects of this quality control are reviewed by Lupwayi,
et al. (2000). In Australia, these standards have been in place
for more than twenty years. In Canada, the standards used stem from
a survey conducted in 1973 which showed that 80% of purchased inoculants
contained less than one million rhizobia
per gram (Olsen et al., 1994).
A specific act of parliament, the Canadian
Fertilizer Act was introduced to correct this problem. The current
standard requires that the inoculant culture provides 103,
104 or 105 of the specified rhizobia per seed
for small, intermediate and large-seeded legumes
when the inoculant is used according to the manufacturer's specifications.
Granular inoculants are required to provide 1011 rhizobia/ha.
Some countries, including France, Rwanda and Australia, also have
a requirement on the level of contamination (Olsen
et al., 1994) and/or require a serological
test to demonstrate that the recommended rhizobial strain
is, in fact, present. Regulations in Australia are currently under
review.
|
Return to: U of M Home > Department of Soil, Water, and Climate > College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences
