What does the published scientific research say about Bradyrhizobium elkanii?

Eight PubMed records index Bradyrhizobium elkanii in plant-input contexts, covering nitrogen-fixing symbiosis in legumes and plant growth promotion across multiple crops. The peer-reviewed literature spans soybeans, cowpea, lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus), and non-legume rice (Oryza sativa).

A trait prominent in the Bradyrhizobium elkanii research record is rhizobitoxine production. Peer-reviewed studies report that rhizobitoxine inhibits ACC synthase in host-root ethylene biosynthesis, enhancing nodule formation, and that rhizobitoxine-producing B. elkanii strains showed roughly 10-fold greater nodulation competitiveness than non-producing mutants in trials on Macroptilium atropurpureum. This late-stage nodulation advantage is cited in the literature as relevant to inoculant performance.

Co-inoculation findings reported in the research include approximately 1,000 kg/ha yield gains when rice was inoculated with B. elkanii SEMIA 587 in field trials, and nodule counts rising from fewer than 12 to up to 277 per plant, with shoot nitrogen increasing up to 91%, under B. elkanii and Azospirillum brasilense co-inoculation in lima bean.