Soil Microbes as Bio fertilizer: Sustainable Agriculture and Environments

Abstract

The worldwide increase in human population raises a big threat to the food
security of each people as the land for agriculture is limited and even getting
reduced with time. Therefore, it is essential that agricultural productivity should
be enhanced significantly within the next few decades to meet the large demand
of food by emerging population. Not to mention, too much dependence on
chemical fertilizers for more crop productions inevitably damages both
environmental ecology and human health with great severity. Exploitation of
microbes as bio fertilizers is considered to some extent an alternative to
chemical fertilizers in agricultural sector due to their extensive potentiality in
enhancing crop production and food safety. It has been observed that some
microorganisms including plant growth promoting bacteria, fungi,
Cyanobacteria, etc. have showed bio fertilizer-like activities in the agricultural
sector.
Extensive works on bio fertilizers have revealed their capability of providing required nutrients to the crop in
sufficient amounts that resulted in the enhancement of crop yield. Soil management strategies today are mainly
dependent on inorganic chemical-based fertilizers, which cause a serious threat to human health and the
environment. Bio-fertilizer has been identified as an alternative for increasing soil fertility and crop production in
sustainable farming. The exploitation of beneficial microbes as bio-fertilizers has become of paramount importance
in agricultural sector due to their potential role in food safety and sustainable crop production. Efficient plant
growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPMs) solubilize the nutrients in soil and facilitate absorption by plants and
consequently enhance the plant growth and yield. PGPMs also sustain the soil fertility, soil health, and nutrient
mobilization efficiency undersustainable agriculture. Current soil management strategies are mainly dependent on
inorganic chemical-based fertilizers, which caused a serious threat to human health and environment. The
exploitation of beneficial microbes as a biofertilizer has become paramount importance in agriculture sector for their
potential role in food safety and sustainable crop production. The eco-friendly approaches inspire a wide range of
application of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs), endo- and ectomycorrhizal fungi, cyanobacteria and
many other useful microscopic organisms led to improved nutrient uptake, plant growth and plant tolerance to
abiotic and biotic stress. The knowledge gained from the literature appraised herein will help us to understand the
physiological bases of biofertlizers towards sustainable agriculture in reducing problems associated with the use of
chemicals fertilizers.