Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 8
Response of PSM Inoculation to Certain
Legumes and Cereal Crops
Ees Ahmad, Almas Zaidi, and Md. Saghir Khan
Abstract
Phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms (PSM) including bacteria, fungi,
and actinomycetes dwelling in soil or other environment, for example, rhizosphere,
do play some vital roles in facilitating growth and development of legumes and
cereal plants via one or simultaneous mechanisms. Phosphate-solubilizing
microbes when applied in agricultural practices provide one of the major plant
nutrients, phosphorus, to plants by transforming insoluble P into soluble and plant
available forms. This practice of applying PSM for enhancing legumes and cereal
production has been found inexpensive and in many cases a successful strategy of
reducing fertilizer input in intensive agricultural practices. The advent of such an
eco-friendly option in farming system holds greater promise for increasing the
productivity of legumes and cereal crops. Here, an attempt is made in this chapter
to highlight the role of PSM involving different microbial groups, used either alone
or in combination, in the promotion of growth and yield of legumes and cereal crops
in different production systems.
Keywords
PSM Cereals Legumes AM fungi
8.1
Introduction
An ever-increasing human population has placed tremendous pressure on declining
lands under cultivation in different regions of the world. And hence, such chal-
lenges need constant efforts to make less fertile soils into fertile ones so that the
crops can be provided with sufficient and need-based nutrients for better growth and
substantial yields (Rengel
2008
). In this context, chemical fertilizers have exces-
sively been used in agriculture worldwide to provide nutrients to support plant
