Bacteria boosted wattles help 're-green' Australia

Planting native vegetation in Australia's farmland is about to become more effective by using bacteria to improve establishment and performance of newly planted trees.

In natural ecosystems the soil bacterium Bradyrhizobium occurs where wattles grow but is often absent in farmland.

"In field trials across Victoria where we applied Bradyrhizobium to wattle seed, establishment rates of wattle plants increased two to five times," says Dr Peter Thrall, CSIRO Plant Industry.

"Furthermore other trees we planted next to the bacteria-boosted wattles, like eucalypts, are healthier and grow faster than those planted further away."

Bradyrhizobium grows in a 'symbiotic' or mutually beneficial relationship with wattles where it helps the wattle 'fix' atmospheric nitrogen in the soil - effectively fertilising the wattle and nearby plants.

Much of Australia's farm land requires some level of native revegetation to help address biodiversity loss and dryland salinity.

CSIRO Plant Industry is currently making arrangements to ensure an inoculant containing Bradyrhizobium will be available in autumn 2004.

The inoculant will be suitable to spread over a range of South Eastern Australian wattle seed before planting, either on seed used in nurseries to establish seedlings, or on seed used for direct seeding.

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