2026· Journal of Applied Biology & Biotechnology· 0 citations· 29 references
TL;DR
The greatest way to establish sustainable agriculture practices globally is through consortiums and microbial fertilizers, which significantly increases crop and soil productivity under high stress.
Abstract
The soil ecology is negatively impacted by the overuse of chemical fertilizers worldwide, which goes beyond crop and soil threshold limitations. Thus, by employing soil microbes as a source of fertilizers, farmers are currently transitioning from agrochemical to agro-biotechnological methods. For the past few decades, soil microbial populations have been viewed as the key component of sustainable farming techniques in industrialized nations. In addition to maintaining biogeochemical cycles and the general climatic balance of the Earth system, research has unequivocally demonstrated the critical role that interactions and activities of soil microorganisms play in promoting plant growth, improving soil health, and sustaining agricultural productivity. Beneficial microbial strains, such as bacteria, fungus, and algae that are integrated into appropriate carrier materials to enable their application and mobilization in the soil are referred to as biofertilizers. It mineralizes the organic materials in the soil and fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere. Inoculants for biofertilizers might be unique to a single species or a mixture of many strains that are compatible. The symbiotic relationships between two or more compatible microbial strains are known as microbial consortiums. Compared to single-strain inoculants, a microbial consortium significantly increases crop and soil productivity under high stress. Thus, the greatest way to establish sustainable agriculture practices globally is through consortiums and microbial fertilizers.
Soil is home to a vast array of microorganisms that are essential to ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF), which includes climate regulation, organic matter breakdown, and nutrient cycling. This literature review summarizes the state of knowledge regarding how soil microbial diversity affects agricultural ecosystem services and functions, emphasizing important processes including phosphorus solubilization, nitrogen fixation, and nutrient mobilization. It describes the ideas of functional redundancy and niche complementarity, which help ecosystems remain stable and resilient in the face of environmental stress. In addition, it also examined the anthropogenic forces that affect soil microbial communities, such as pollution and land-use change. This article describes the biotic and abiotic drivers of microbial diversity. The promise of methodological advancements like machine learning, stable isotope probing, and omics technologies to expand the understanding of soil microbial ecology is investigated. To maximize microbial potential for environmental resilience and sustainable development, we provide the review of promoting new emerging technology for microbial diversity identification and policy integration. Overall, this article shows the importance of preserving and managing soil microbial diversity to promote sustainable agriculture, enhance soil health, and reduce the effects of climate change.
Kabita Budthapa, Prof. Dr. Iin Handayani, MSc· Journal of Smart Agriculture...· 0 citations
The roles of bacteria, fungi, archaea, algae and cyanobacteria in nutrient cycling, soil fertility improvement, plant growth promotion, biological nitrogen fixation, disease suppression and pollutant degradation are examined.
Sarita Dubey, Vaishalee Thakur, Akanksha Sharma· Journal of Advances in Biolo...· 0 citations
In Nigeria favourable climatic and ecological features exist at the same time potentially resourceful efficient and versatile earthworm species are much present in soil environment. These earthworms are capable to address the food security, soil and environmental bioremediation and sustainable soil productivity. Often time these organisms are being destroyed by deleterious cultural practices, use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides leading to their going extinct faster than desired. Through their burrowing activities in conjunction with vermicompost production, soil material mixing, and distribution activities contribute immensely to enhance soil biological and physiochemical properties. Earthworms being omnivorous decomposes organic wastes faster than merely microbial decomposers and turn the wastes into excellent vermicompost product that is marketable. Vermicompost contains plant nutrients and beneficial microbes that can promote plant growth, reduce the incidence of pathogens, nematodes and other pests as it promotes the synthesis of anthocyanin and flavonoids that act as deterrent to diseases and pests. Thereby increase the growth of healthy plants and yield. The recovery of plant nutrients by modification of wastes that are bound in Nigeria in their different kinds and quantity and threat to soil-air-water quality is very much important for their management and environmental health. There is need to evolve adequate and appropriate research strategies to develop useful biotechnology to harness these renewable agricultural resources using earthworm potentials to address Nigerian food security and environmental degradation. This paper therefore highlights some resourceful features and practical utilization of earthworms in agricultural productions and environmental management.
N. A., Ogalanya F. C., Muoedu U. E. et al.· International journal of re...· 0 citations
The increasing demand for sustainable and environmentally responsible agricultural practices has accelerated the search for alternatives to chemical fertilizers. Microbial biofertilizers, particularly plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), offer a promising strategy to enhance crop productivity while maintaining soil health. Among these, Bacillus species have gained significant attention due to their ecological versatility and functional diversity. This review provides a comprehensive evaluation of the biofertilization potential of Bacillus spp. in sustainable agriculture. Prominent species such as Bacillus subtilis, B. megaterium, and B. amyloliquefaciens contribute to improved nutrient acquisition through nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, and potassium mobilization. In addition, Bacillus spp. produce phytohormones, siderophores, and volatile organic compounds that stimulate plant growth and enhance tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Their endospore-forming ability ensures high survival, prolonged shelf life, and reliable performance under diverse field conditions, supporting their commercial application as biofertilizers. This review also discusses interactions between Bacillus spp. and native soil microbiota, their influence on rhizosphere dynamics, and their role in improving soil fertility and crop productivity. However, inconsistent field performance, formulation challenges, and regulatory constraints remain key barriers to large-scale adoption. Recent advances in genomics, strain improvement, and formulation technologies present new opportunities to enhance the efficacy of Bacillus-based biofertilizers. Integrative approaches combining microbiology, agronomy, and policy frameworks are essential to realize their full potential in sustainable agricultural systems and global food security.
Soumendranath Chatterjee, Dibyendu Saha, Souvik Bag et al.· Discover Plants· 0 citations
Soil microbes, the primary components of soil biodiversity, provide crucial ecosystem services. Anthropogenic activities, such as agriculture, bring about innumerable biotic and abiotic changes in the soil ecosystem that can have short and long-term impacts on the environment and soil sustainability. Lowland paddy cultivation is a typical example of anthropogenic disturbance to soil, where the paddy field fluctuates between waterlogged conditions and extreme dry spells, which have some immediate effects, such as greenhouse gas emissions, and a probable long-term impact on soil, altering soil oxidoreduction states and influencing microbe-driven nutrient and carbon cycling. Although rice is a dominant crop in Northeast India, microbial responses to paddy cultivation remain poorly documented. In this study, we compared the soil microbiomes of paddy fields and adjacent non-paddy land in the Bhagawatipara region of Kamrup district of Assam, India, using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Paddy soils exhibited clear shifts in microbial abundance, with an increased representation of methanogens, nitrogen-transforming archaea, diazotrophs, and phosphatesolubilizing bacteria. Distinct changes in alpha and beta diversity further indicated strong hydrological and cultivation-driven impacts on microbial community dynamics. This study provides the first comprehensive microbial dataset for paddy soils in the Kamrup district (Assam) and highlights key microbial signatures associated with methane cycling and soil nutrient processes.
M. Chakraborty, S. R. Patgiri· Nature Environment and Pollu...· 0 citations
Greenhouse gasses emission, depletion of nutrients and soil degradation are major factors that are deteriorating soil health. A global challenge to agriculture is the production of enough crops while reducing the impact of intensive chemical inputs on the environment. Humic acids (HA), a main fraction of humic substances produced through humification of organic matter, are considered as multi-functional biostimulants playing an important role in sustainable and climate-smart crop production systems. Recent developments in molecular spectroscopy, humeomics, and soil–plant systems biology have significantly changed our understanding of HA; from inert recalcitrant macropolymers to supramolecular assemblies that are dynamic and govern soil physicochemical properties, microbial activity and plant physiological responses. This review critically synthesizes the available evidence on structure–function relationships of HA with soil fertility restoration, nutrient-use efficiency, crop productivity and environmental sustainability. Emphasis is placed on mechanisms involved in humic acid-mediated soil aggregation, cation exchange capacity improvement, nutrient chelation and modification of root architecture, hormonal signaling and stress tolerance. Nutrient-use efficiency can be improved through HA applications and lower synthetic fertilizer inputs, as well as long-term stabilization of soil carbon and immobilization of heavy metals through the formation of stable organo-mineral complexes. Despite these benefits, substantial variability in HA sources, extraction protocols and molecular composition as well as adoption methodologies continue to limit their reproducibility and widespread application. Knowledge gaps, such as the standardization of molecular characterization, omics-level validation of the plant and microbial responses, long-term field-scale assessment for carbon (C) permanence and agronomic performance of HA are discussed in this review. It also proposes future research and policy needs to develop humic-based amendments for resilient low-input agricultural systems.
M. Drosos, O. Oyebiyi, Muzammal Hoque et al.· Journal of Soils and Sedimen...· 0 citations