Scholarly record

SUSTAINABLE CROP PRODUCTION: P-SOLUBILIZING BIOFERTILIZERS

M. Vassileva

Abstract

Sustainable plant production refers to groups of production practices that lead to high yields but without damaging the environment and biodiversity. Sustainable crop production includes methods of growing food in a responsible manner avoiding application and dependence on chemically produced fertilizers and pesticides. The latter means development of approaches that lead to environmentally mild inputs based on the production-consumption-recycling principle. Biofertilizers are an important tool to achieve sustainable crop production. A biofertiliser could be defined as the formulated product containing one or more microorganisms that enhance the nutrient status (and the growth and yield) of the plants by either replacing soil nutrients and/or by making nutrients more available to plants and/or by increasing plant access to nutrients. Different kinds of microorganisms used to improve plant nutrition are fungi and bacteria that demonstrate different mechanisms to obtain biofertilizing effect. P-solubilizing microorganisms are commonly used as biofertilizers. This paper describes the potential of P-solubilizing biofertilizers as eco-friendly and cost effective inputs and their role in sustainable crop production.

Publication details

Back to publication list