Taking the pulse: 2024 grower survey about legume inoculation

The University of Adelaide are part of a national Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) supported investment to increase the effectiveness of nitrogen fixation in pulse crops through the development of improved rhizobial strains, inoculation and crop management practices.

This survey aims to collect grower input about knowledge and practice in relation to inoculating legumes, especially grain legumes. This is important information to guide our research and to better understand practice change in the longer term. Similar surveys were conducted in 2013 and 2017.

The survey will take about 15 minutes to complete and will run from 25th September to 25th October 2024.

Survey results will be compiled into a report and shared with GRDC, growers and consultants. For a brief summary of results of the previous two surveys please go to: Summary of surveys

The University respects the privacy of individuals and is committed to the collection, use, disclosure and management of, and provision of access to, Personal Information in a manner consistent with the standards contained in the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 (the Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles.

We appreciate your help with the survey and look forward to using the results to find ways to enhance legume nitrogen fixation and help you improve your farm business.

** If you would like a free hard copy of the informative new guide "Inoculating legumes: practice and science" (120 pages, published by GRDC), please email Maarten Ryder

For more information, please contact Dr Maarten Ryder, University of Adelaide, maarten.ryder@adelaide.edu.au. Or visit the GRDC Investments page for GRDC Project Code UOA2312-008RTX.

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* 1. Please provide the location (Postcode) of your farm

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* 2. Indicate total farm size including leased land (ha)

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* 3. Legume inoculants contain rhizobia. What do the rhizobia do? (select one answer)

Stimulate legume growth through improved root growth

Help the legume access phosphorus from the soil

Form nodules and fix nitrogen for use by the legume

Protect the legume from root disease

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* 4. There are different inoculant groups (e.g. E, F, G, N etc.). Did you know that different legumes require different rhizobia?

Yes

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* 5. The amount of Nitrogen fixed by legumes is affected by (select one answer)

Soil nitrate N

Legume nodulation

Legume variety

Legume dry matter production

Agronomic practices

All of the above

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Peat inoculant

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* 6. Peat inoculants are still the most popular. Which of the following statements are true for peat inoculants?

Contain living bacteria

Can be mixed with pesticides

Can be mixed with fertilizers

Are sensitive to extremes of temperature

Should not be stored more than 2 weeks after opening

Slurry inoculated grain legume seed should be sown within 24 hrs

Are most effective when sown into moist soil

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* 7. Do you consider any of these factors when deciding if inoculation is required? (select all that apply)

Paddock history: has legume been sown before? time since last legume host crop?

Soil pH (e.g. soil is acidic)

Nodulation of previous host crop grown

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* 8. Do you sow the following legumes into dry soil?

	Yes, mostly	Yes, sometimes	No, always sow into moist soil
Peas	Peas Yes, mostly	Peas Yes, sometimes	Peas No, always sow into moist soil
Lentil	Lentil Yes, mostly	Lentil Yes, sometimes	Lentil No, always sow into moist soil
Faba / broad beans	Faba / broad beans Yes, mostly	Faba / broad beans Yes, sometimes	Faba / broad beans No, always sow into moist soil
Chickpea	Chickpea Yes, mostly	Chickpea Yes, sometimes	Chickpea No, always sow into moist soil
Lupin	Lupin Yes, mostly	Lupin Yes, sometimes	Lupin No, always sow into moist soil
Soybean	Soybean Yes, mostly	Soybean Yes, sometimes	Soybean No, always sow into moist soil
Mungbean	Mungbean Yes, mostly	Mungbean Yes, sometimes	Mungbean No, always sow into moist soil
Vetch	Vetch Yes, mostly	Vetch Yes, sometimes	Vetch No, always sow into moist soil
Pastures	Pastures Yes, mostly	Pastures Yes, sometimes	Pastures No, always sow into moist soil

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* 9. Indicate legume types and amount (% of farm) sown in the most recent cropping cycle.

	0%	1-5%	6-10%	11-20%	21-50%	>50%
Field pea	Field pea 0%	Field pea 1-5%	Field pea 6-10%	Field pea 11-20%	Field pea 21-50%	Field pea >50%
Lentil	Lentil 0%	Lentil 1-5%	Lentil 6-10%	Lentil 11-20%	Lentil 21-50%	Lentil >50%
Faba/broad bean	Faba/broad bean 0%	Faba/broad bean 1-5%	Faba/broad bean 6-10%	Faba/broad bean 11-20%	Faba/broad bean 21-50%	Faba/broad bean >50%
Chickpea	Chickpea 0%	Chickpea 1-5%	Chickpea 6-10%	Chickpea 11-20%	Chickpea 21-50%	Chickpea >50%
Lupin	Lupin 0%	Lupin 1-5%	Lupin 6-10%	Lupin 11-20%	Lupin 21-50%	Lupin >50%
Soybean	Soybean 0%	Soybean 1-5%	Soybean 6-10%	Soybean 11-20%	Soybean 21-50%	Soybean >50%
Mung bean	Mung bean 0%	Mung bean 1-5%	Mung bean 6-10%	Mung bean 11-20%	Mung bean 21-50%	Mung bean >50%
Vetch	Vetch 0%	Vetch 1-5%	Vetch 6-10%	Vetch 11-20%	Vetch 21-50%	Vetch >50%
Other pulses	Other pulses 0%	Other pulses 1-5%	Other pulses 6-10%	Other pulses 11-20%	Other pulses 21-50%	Other pulses >50%
Lucerne	Lucerne 0%	Lucerne 1-5%	Lucerne 6-10%	Lucerne 11-20%	Lucerne 21-50%	Lucerne >50%
Sub-clover	Sub-clover 0%	Sub-clover 1-5%	Sub-clover 6-10%	Sub-clover 11-20%	Sub-clover 21-50%	Sub-clover >50%
Medic	Medic 0%	Medic 1-5%	Medic 6-10%	Medic 11-20%	Medic 21-50%	Medic >50%
Serradella	Serradella 0%	Serradella 1-5%	Serradella 6-10%	Serradella 11-20%	Serradella 21-50%	Serradella >50%
Other pasture	Other pasture 0%	Other pasture 1-5%	Other pasture 6-10%	Other pasture 11-20%	Other pasture 21-50%	Other pasture >50%

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Inoculation via auger (Photo: N. Seymour)

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* 10. Did you use legume inoculant in the most recent cropping cycle?

Yes

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* 11. If you answered Yes to the previous question, which legume/s did you inoculate?

Field pea

Lentil

Faba or broad bean

Chickpea

Lupin

Soybean

Mungbean

Vetch

Other grain legumes

Lucerne

Sub clover

Medic

Serradella

Other pasture legumes

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* 12. Are there legumes you no longer inoculate?

Yes

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* 13. If you answered yes to the previous question, which legume/s do you no longer inoculate?

Field pea

Lentil

Faba or broad bean

Chickpea

Lupin

Soybean

Mungbean

Vetch

Other grain legumes

Lucerne

Sub clover

Medic

Serradella

Other pasture legumes

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* 14. If you do not use inoculant on a particular legume, why not?

Too costly

Inconvenient

The benefit is not clear

Other (please specify)

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* 15. Do you apply inoculants at above recommended rates (e.g. double)?

Always

Sometimes

Never

When do you use higher inoculant rates?

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Types of inoculant: peat, granular, liquid, freeze-dried

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* 16. Which of the following inoculation methods do you use?

Peat slurry on seed

Peat slurry in furrow

Freeze-dried, coated on seed

Freeze-dried, liquid in furrow

Liquid (soybean only)

Granule from small seeds box

Granule mixed with fertilizer

Seed coating (peat or freeze-dried) PLUS granule

Pre-inoculated seed (pasture)

Peat applied dry to seed

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* 17. Do you choose inoculant products that contain rhizobia together with other biologicals?

Always

Usually

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

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Green tick (quality assurance) logo

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* 18. Do you consider the Green Tick logo (quality indicator) to help with inoculant choice?

Yes

I am not aware of the Green Tick logo

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* 19. Do you add fertilizer when sowing pulses? Which fertilizer(s)?

MAP (mono-ammonium phosphate)

DAP (di-ammonium phosphate)

MAP or DAP with Zinc

Superphosphate

None

Other (please specify, including brand and supplier)

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* 20. If you answered Yes to the previous question, at what rate do you apply fertilizer?

	less than 50 kg/ha	50 - 80 kg/ha	more than 80 kg/ha
Most recent legume crop	Most recent legume crop less than 50 kg/ha	Most recent legume crop 50 - 80 kg/ha	Most recent legume crop more than 80 kg/ha
5 years ago	5 years ago less than 50 kg/ha	5 years ago 50 - 80 kg/ha	5 years ago more than 80 kg/ha

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* 21. If you answered Yes to Q18, where do you place the fertilizer?

With (next to) the seed

Below the seed

Offset to the side

Other (please specify)

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* 22. What stops you growing more legumes?

	Very important	Somewhat important	Minor importance	N/A
Poor economic returns	Poor economic returns Very important	Poor economic returns Somewhat important	Poor economic returns Minor importance	Poor economic returns N/A
Reliability of production	Reliability of production Very important	Reliability of production Somewhat important	Reliability of production Minor importance	Reliability of production N/A
Difficulties with marketing	Difficulties with marketing Very important	Difficulties with marketing Somewhat important	Difficulties with marketing Minor importance	Difficulties with marketing N/A
Difficult to control weeds	Difficult to control weeds Very important	Difficult to control weeds Somewhat important	Difficult to control weeds Minor importance	Difficult to control weeds N/A

Other (please specify)

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* 23. Do you consider legume N benefits when assessing how much fertiliser to apply in post legume crops?

Yes

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Pink (active) nodules on faba bean (Photo: E. Farquharson)

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* 24. Legume nodulation and nitrogen fixation

	Usually	Sometimes	No	Don't know (part B only)
Do you normally check legume nodulation (typically 2 to 3 months after emergence)?	Do you normally check legume nodulation (typically 2 to 3 months after emergence)? Usually	Do you normally check legume nodulation (typically 2 to 3 months after emergence)? Sometimes	Do you normally check legume nodulation (typically 2 to 3 months after emergence)? No	Do you normally check legume nodulation (typically 2 to 3 months after emergence)? Don't know (part B only)
Are your legumes adequately nodulated?	Are your legumes adequately nodulated? Usually	Are your legumes adequately nodulated? Sometimes	Are your legumes adequately nodulated? No	Are your legumes adequately nodulated? Don't know (part B only)

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* 25. Do you use agronomist advice for guidance on inoculation decisions?

Yes

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* 26. Indicate areas where you would like to have further information or see more research done about rhizobia and inoculation (1 = not useful 5 = very useful)

	1	2	3	4	5
Compatibility with chemicals (herbicides / insecticides / fertilisers / organic amendments)	Compatibility with chemicals (herbicides / insecticides / fertilisers / organic amendments) 1	Compatibility with chemicals (herbicides / insecticides / fertilisers / organic amendments) 2	Compatibility with chemicals (herbicides / insecticides / fertilisers / organic amendments) 3	Compatibility with chemicals (herbicides / insecticides / fertilisers / organic amendments) 4	Compatibility with chemicals (herbicides / insecticides / fertilisers / organic amendments) 5
Where and when and how to inoculate	Where and when and how to inoculate 1	Where and when and how to inoculate 2	Where and when and how to inoculate 3	Where and when and how to inoculate 4	Where and when and how to inoculate 5
An app for a smart phone / device on when and how to inoculate	An app for a smart phone / device on when and how to inoculate 1	An app for a smart phone / device on when and how to inoculate 2	An app for a smart phone / device on when and how to inoculate 3	An app for a smart phone / device on when and how to inoculate 4	An app for a smart phone / device on when and how to inoculate 5
PREDICTA rNod tests to measure rhizobia in soil	PREDICTA rNod tests to measure rhizobia in soil 1	PREDICTA rNod tests to measure rhizobia in soil 2	PREDICTA rNod tests to measure rhizobia in soil 3	PREDICTA rNod tests to measure rhizobia in soil 4	PREDICTA rNod tests to measure rhizobia in soil 5
Independent information on products and formulations	Independent information on products and formulations 1	Independent information on products and formulations 2	Independent information on products and formulations 3	Independent information on products and formulations 4	Independent information on products and formulations 5
How to assess nodulation	How to assess nodulation 1	How to assess nodulation 2	How to assess nodulation 3	How to assess nodulation 4	How to assess nodulation 5
Economic benefits of inoculation and legume N fixation	Economic benefits of inoculation and legume N fixation 1	Economic benefits of inoculation and legume N fixation 2	Economic benefits of inoculation and legume N fixation 3	Economic benefits of inoculation and legume N fixation 4	Economic benefits of inoculation and legume N fixation 5
Ranking of grain legume crops and varieties for N fixation efficiency	Ranking of grain legume crops and varieties for N fixation efficiency 1	Ranking of grain legume crops and varieties for N fixation efficiency 2	Ranking of grain legume crops and varieties for N fixation efficiency 3	Ranking of grain legume crops and varieties for N fixation efficiency 4	Ranking of grain legume crops and varieties for N fixation efficiency 5
Trouble shooting legume inoculation failure	Trouble shooting legume inoculation failure 1	Trouble shooting legume inoculation failure 2	Trouble shooting legume inoculation failure 3	Trouble shooting legume inoculation failure 4	Trouble shooting legume inoculation failure 5

Any other areas of legume / nodulation research which you think we should focus on to help improve your productivity and profitability?

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* 27. Thank you for your participation. If you want to be informed about the results of the project, please include your email address below.

For more information about legume inoculation, an electronic copy of the 120 page booklet "Inoculating Legumes: Practice and Science", published by the GRDC, is available here: https://grdc.com.au/inoculating-legumes.

To receive a free hard copy of "Inoculating Legumes: Practice and Science", please email Maarten Ryder

For more information, please contact Maarten Ryder, University of Adelaide.