Microbes in Agriculture: Prospects and Constraints to Their Wider Adoption and Utilization in Nutrient-Poor Environments
Microbes such as bacteria and fungi play important roles in nutrient cycling in soils, often leading to the bioavailability of metabolically important mineral elements such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn). Examples of microbes with beneficial traits for plant growth promoti...
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2024-11-01
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| author | Mustapha Mohammed Felix D. Dakora |
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| description | Microbes such as bacteria and fungi play important roles in nutrient cycling in soils, often leading to the bioavailability of metabolically important mineral elements such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn). Examples of microbes with beneficial traits for plant growth promotion include mycorrhizal fungi, associative diazotrophs, and the N<sub>2</sub>-fixing rhizobia belonging to the α, β and γ class of Proteobacteria. Mycorrhizal fungi generally contribute to increasing the surface area of soil-root interface for optimum nutrient uptake by plants. However, when transformed into bacteroids inside root nodules, rhizobia also convert N<sub>2</sub> gas in air into ammonia for use by the bacteria and their host plant. Thus, nodulated legumes can meet a high proportion of their N requirements from N<sub>2</sub> fixation. The percentage of legume N derived from atmospheric N<sub>2</sub> fixation varies with crop species and genotype, with reported values ranging from 50–97%, 24–67%, 66–86% 27–92%, 50–92%, and 40–75% for soybean (<i>Gycine max</i>), groundnut (<i>Arachis hypogea</i>), mung bean (<i>Vigna radiata</i>), pigeon pea (<i>Cajanus cajan</i>), cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i>), and Kersting’s groundnut (<i>Macrotyloma geocarpum</i>), respectively. This suggests that N<sub>2</sub>-fixing legumes require little or no N fertilizer for growth and grain yield when grown under field conditions. Even cereals and other species obtain a substantial proportion of their N nutrition from associative and endophytic N<sub>2</sub>-fixing bacteria. For example, about 12–33% of maize N requirement can be obtained from their association with <i>Pseudomonas</i>, <i>Hebaspirillum</i>, <i>Azospirillum,</i> and <i>Brevundioronas</i>, while cucumber can obtain 12.9–20.9% from its interaction with <i>Paenebacillus beijingensis</i> BJ-18. Exploiting the plant growth-promoting traits of soil microbes for increased crop productivity without any negative impact on the environment is the basis of green agriculture which is done through the use of biofertilizers. Either alone or in combination with other synergistic rhizobacteria, rhizobia and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have been widely used in agriculture, often increasing crop yields but with occasional failures due to the use of poor-quality inoculants, and wrong application techniques. This review explores the literature regarding the plant growth-promoting traits of soil microbes, and also highlights the bottle-necks in tapping this potential for sustainable agriculture. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| spelling | doaj-art-e957141651eb432eb3c537fe53c645042024-11-26T18:14:35ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072024-11-011211222510.3390/microorganisms12112225Microbes in Agriculture: Prospects and Constraints to Their Wider Adoption and Utilization in Nutrient-Poor EnvironmentsMustapha Mohammed0Felix D. Dakora1Department of Crop Science, University for Development Studies, Tamale P.O. Box TL 1882, GhanaDepartment of Chemistry, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South AfricaMicrobes such as bacteria and fungi play important roles in nutrient cycling in soils, often leading to the bioavailability of metabolically important mineral elements such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn). Examples of microbes with beneficial traits for plant growth promotion include mycorrhizal fungi, associative diazotrophs, and the N<sub>2</sub>-fixing rhizobia belonging to the α, β and γ class of Proteobacteria. Mycorrhizal fungi generally contribute to increasing the surface area of soil-root interface for optimum nutrient uptake by plants. However, when transformed into bacteroids inside root nodules, rhizobia also convert N<sub>2</sub> gas in air into ammonia for use by the bacteria and their host plant. Thus, nodulated legumes can meet a high proportion of their N requirements from N<sub>2</sub> fixation. The percentage of legume N derived from atmospheric N<sub>2</sub> fixation varies with crop species and genotype, with reported values ranging from 50–97%, 24–67%, 66–86% 27–92%, 50–92%, and 40–75% for soybean (<i>Gycine max</i>), groundnut (<i>Arachis hypogea</i>), mung bean (<i>Vigna radiata</i>), pigeon pea (<i>Cajanus cajan</i>), cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i>), and Kersting’s groundnut (<i>Macrotyloma geocarpum</i>), respectively. This suggests that N<sub>2</sub>-fixing legumes require little or no N fertilizer for growth and grain yield when grown under field conditions. Even cereals and other species obtain a substantial proportion of their N nutrition from associative and endophytic N<sub>2</sub>-fixing bacteria. For example, about 12–33% of maize N requirement can be obtained from their association with <i>Pseudomonas</i>, <i>Hebaspirillum</i>, <i>Azospirillum,</i> and <i>Brevundioronas</i>, while cucumber can obtain 12.9–20.9% from its interaction with <i>Paenebacillus beijingensis</i> BJ-18. Exploiting the plant growth-promoting traits of soil microbes for increased crop productivity without any negative impact on the environment is the basis of green agriculture which is done through the use of biofertilizers. Either alone or in combination with other synergistic rhizobacteria, rhizobia and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have been widely used in agriculture, often increasing crop yields but with occasional failures due to the use of poor-quality inoculants, and wrong application techniques. This review explores the literature regarding the plant growth-promoting traits of soil microbes, and also highlights the bottle-necks in tapping this potential for sustainable agriculture.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/12/11/2225plant growth-promoting rhizobacteriaplant-microbe interactionsmicrobial inoculantsroot exudates |
| spellingShingle | Mustapha Mohammed Felix D. Dakora Microbes in Agriculture: Prospects and Constraints to Their Wider Adoption and Utilization in Nutrient-Poor Environments Microorganisms plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria plant-microbe interactions microbial inoculants root exudates |
| title | Microbes in Agriculture: Prospects and Constraints to Their Wider Adoption and Utilization in Nutrient-Poor Environments |
| title_full | Microbes in Agriculture: Prospects and Constraints to Their Wider Adoption and Utilization in Nutrient-Poor Environments |
| title_fullStr | Microbes in Agriculture: Prospects and Constraints to Their Wider Adoption and Utilization in Nutrient-Poor Environments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microbes in Agriculture: Prospects and Constraints to Their Wider Adoption and Utilization in Nutrient-Poor Environments |
| title_short | Microbes in Agriculture: Prospects and Constraints to Their Wider Adoption and Utilization in Nutrient-Poor Environments |
| title_sort | microbes in agriculture prospects and constraints to their wider adoption and utilization in nutrient poor environments |
| topic | plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria plant-microbe interactions microbial inoculants root exudates |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/12/11/2225 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mustaphamohammed microbesinagricultureprospectsandconstraintstotheirwideradoptionandutilizationinnutrientpoorenvironments AT felixddakora microbesinagricultureprospectsandconstraintstotheirwideradoptionandutilizationinnutrientpoorenvironments |