Microbes: Bioresource in agriculture and environmental sustainability

Abstract

The concept of sustainable agriculture is a response to the decline in the quality of the natural resource base associated with modern agriculture. The relationship between agriculture, the global environment, and social systems suggests that agricultural development results from the complex interaction of a multitude of factors. Dependence on chemicals for further agricultural needs will result in future loss in soil physical condition, feasibility of water pollution, and calculated burden on the fiscal system. Inaugurating an ecological friendly parallel mechanism on earth is of vital importance. The exploitation of beneficial microbes as a biofertilizer has become paramount importance in agriculture sector for their potential role in food safety and sustainable crop production. This chapter focuses on the use of microbes as bioresource in agriculture which is the backbone of economies of most of the developing nations and specifically on the use of PGP microbes. The knowledge gained from the literature appraised herein will help us to understand the physiological bases of biofertilizers toward sustainable agriculture in reducing problems associated with the use of chemical fertilizers.