Inoculation impact of phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms on growth and development of vegetable crops

Abstract

Vegetables are one of the important food components of dietary systems in many countries including Asian regions. It provides some of the essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats and therefore plays a critical role in the human health. Vegetables while growing in soil require significant amounts of phosphorus for better biological growth and optimum yields. The soluble and available forms of phosphorous in soil are, however, limited and not accessible for uptake by vegetable crops. To this end, apart from chemical phosphatic fertilizers, one strategy to provide phosphorus to vegetable crops is the use of phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms, which are ubiquitous and both inexpensive and safe to the environment. Phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms secrete organic acid which in turn solubilizes the complex forms of phosphorus and makes it available to vegetable plants, besides exhibiting other growth-promoting activities. Here, the impact of phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms onto the growth and yield of vegetables is discussed and considered. This approach of using PS microorganisms in vegetable cultivation is likely to help in reducing, if not completely eliminating, the use of synthetic fertilizers in vegetable production across different regions of the world.