AbstractRecent attention has been drawn to plant‐growth‐promoting bacteria which colonize not only the rhizosphere and the surface of roots but also the interior of roots and shoots of higher plants. The bacteria are found in the apoplast i.e. intercellular spaces and xylem vessels. These so‐called endophytic bacteria are considered to be more effective in providing the host plant with nitrogen than associative rhizosphere bacteria on the root surface and appear to play an important role in biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in nonleguminous plants. This is discussed in detail. Bacteria which have been found in the apoplast of nonleguminous plants includeAzospirillum spp., Pantoea agglomerans, Acetobacter diazotrophicus, Herbaspirillum spp., Azoarcus spp.andRhizobium spp.The significance of the apoplastic colonization of these bacteria for the nitrogen nutrition of tropical non‐legumes is di
展开▼
