Natural nodulation of cowpea plants in lowland soil in south-western Amazonia

Abstract

“Beach farming” is an activity practiced in Amazonia in the lowland soil of muddy rivers, with headwaters in the Andes. In the Juruá Valley (Acre), south-western Amazon, this production system contributes to the conservation of traditional cowpea cultivars. The present report describes the natural occurrence, on river beaches (flood plain areas), of nitrogen-fixing native microorganisms in symbiosis with cowpea plants. The report was carried out in 2018 on a private property on the beaches of the Jurua River, in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre. The reported case deserves special attention and encourages future research that can contribute to family agricultural production.