The existence of a balance survival rate of differentB. japonicumstrains in soils has been well established. Balance levels (M) were shown to be independent of inoculum size but differences between strains in a soil could not be discussed partly because of the instability of the recovery's efficiency in the area of the plateau. In this paper, a dynamic model, the Gompertz equation, is fitted to the data, to estimate the rate (A) at which equilibrium is reached. For the three strains in the three soils previously studied, this rate is also independent of inoculum size and the soil-strain interaction is highly significant. Some data from the literature are also well fitted by the model. We propose to characterize the saprophytic potential of a strain with the pair of parameters A-M. An optimal experimental procedure is proposed to obtain the most precise estimates for these parameters. Their biological significance is discussed, but the fact that they are not dependent upon inoculation level is of basic importance for agronomic practice.
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