Microbial Strategies for Crop Improvement

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The increasing human population poses a significant challenge for agriculture to meet the rising food demand. To address this, agrochemicals have played a crucial role in the green revolution, often recommended to alleviate soil nutrient deficiencies. However, while these chemicals enhance plant production, they significantly harm soil health and fertility, adversely affecting crop productivity and sustainability. Concerns about the impact on microbial diversity and soil fertility, coupled with economic limitations, have spurred research into new agro-biotechnologies. These innovations aim to ensure competitive yields by supplying essential nutrients while safeguarding soil health from toxic pollutants. In this context, naturally abundant yet underexplored microorganisms, such as biofertilizers, are vital for supplementing plant nutrients with minimal cost and environmental impact, applicable in both conventional and neglected environments. Current sustainability efforts focus on rationally utilizing soil microbial communities and employing inexpensive, less bioavailable nutrient sources, which can be made accessible to plants through microbial processes.