Cold-tolerant phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms and agriculture development in mountainous regions of the world

Abstract

In many mountainous regions of the world, agriculture faces several major challenges. Of these, cold temperatures and low fertility of soils are of particular importance. For instance, in the Indian Himalayas and in the High Andes, soils are acidic and phosphorus deficient, severely limiting crop production. In the contemporary world, the use of biofertilizers-especially nitrogen fixers and phosphate solubilizers-to enhance crop yields has become an attractive alternative for farmers, due to low costs and no environmental hazards. Nevertheless, use of commercially available biofertilizers in cold climates like the ones prevailing in mountainous regions has been found ineffective. To overcome these challenges, numerous biotechnological/microbiological approaches have been assayed during the last two decades, involving the use of cold-loving (psychrophilic) or cold-tolerant (psychrotrophic) organisms. However, despite their great potential, the development of cold-tolerant biofertilizers based on the rational use of psychrophilic and psychrotrophic microorganisms is still in its infancy. The most important achievements in the field of cold-tolerant phosphate-solubilizing bioinoculants documented so far are reviewed and highlighted in this chapter.