Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 5
Cold-Tolerant Phosphate-Solubilizing
Microorganisms and Agriculture
Development in Mountainous Regions
of the World
Luis Andr´s Yarz´bal
Abstract
In many mountainous regions of the world, agriculture faces several
major challenges. Of these, cold temperatures and low fertility of soils are of
particular importance. For instance, in the Indian Himalayas and in the High
Andes, soils are acidic and phosphorus deficient, severely limiting crop production.
In the contemporary world, the use of biofertilizers-especially nitrogen fixers and
phosphate solubilizers-to enhance crop yields has become an attractive alternative
for farmers, due to low costs and no environmental hazards. Nevertheless, use of
commercially available biofertilizers in cold climates like the ones prevailing in
mountainous regions has been found ineffective. To overcome these challenges,
numerous biotechnological/microbiological approaches have been assayed during
the last two decades, involving the use of cold-loving (psychrophilic) or cold-
tolerant (psychrotrophic) organisms. However, despite their great potential, the
development of cold-tolerant biofertilizers based on the rational use of psychro-
philic and psychrotrophic microorganisms is still in its infancy. The most important
achievements in the field of cold-tolerant phosphate-solubilizing bioinoculants
documented so far are reviewed and highlighted in this chapter.
Keywords
Cold-tolerant biofertilizers • Psychrophilic microorganisms • Tropical
Andes • Phosphate solubilization • Mountain agriculture • Plant growth promotion
5.1
Introduction
According to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “every-
one has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of
himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing
” (Article 25)
...
