Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 7
Ecological Diversity, Mechanism,
and Biotechnology of Phosphate-Solubilizing
Bacteria for Enhanced Crop Production
Anamika Jha, Sanjay Jha, and Debayan Baidya
Abstract The exponentially growing population has engendered the global need to
enhance agricultural production in a sustainable manner. Phosphate solubilization
is a vital process that determines plant productivity. Conversely, P availability in
soil is highly limited due to chemical reactions that fix it into insoluble forms. Soil
naturally has organisms capable of bioameliorating the soil Pi by converting it into
orthophosphates that can be taken up by the plants. Addition of such bacteria
possessing mineral phosphate-solubilizing (mps) activity has been found to
increase plant growth and yield even further. Research evidence has clearly
shown that microorganisms apart from possessing P-solubilizing ability also
enhance plant growth and development through other mechanisms such as nutrient
transformation, nutrient mobilization, and production of biologically active com-
pounds. The understanding of microbial community dynamics, functional variation,
the relationship between roots and microbiota and their implications in mps mech-
anism, and the applications of biotechnological tools need to be interwoven to find
efficient bacterial cultures with super plant growth-promoting qualities that can be
used to develop effective biofertilizers for enhancing crop nutrition in different
agroecological niches.
Keywords Rhizosphere competence • Diversity • DGGE • PSB • Biofertilizer
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