Aluminium tolerance in the tropical leguminous N2-fixing shrub Acaciella angustissima (Mill.) Britton & Rose inoculated with Sinorhizobium mexicanum

the tropical legume acaciella angustissima inoculated with or without sinorhizobium mexicanum ittg r7t strain was cultivated in an aluminium (al) spiked soil to study its tolerance towards this metal. seedlings of a. angustissima were grown in soil with 0, 2, 4 or 6 mg al kg-1. the effect of al and inoculation on growth, nodulation, and nitrogen and tannins content in the plants was monitored. height and total and dry root weight of plantlets decreased significantly when soil was spiked with al, but increased when inoculated. al decreased the number of nodules. inoculum increased total n and tannin content of the plantlets. it was found that al reduced the growth of the tropical leguminous n2-fixing shrub a. angustissima, while inoculation with s. mexicanum ittg r7t stimulated its growth and increased its tannin and n content.