The Role of Soil Microbes in Plant Nutrient Availability

Abstract

More and more food is needed all over the world in order to meet rapidly growing population demands, while the modern agriculture on increasing output has already reached its limit. It is badly in need to cultivate new crop varieties for increase the yield and resistant to environmental stress and insects. However, crops are still need to provide the necessary fertilizer nutrients which is insufficient in soil. Recently, many evidences showed that soil microbes provide an opportunity for reducing agricultural demand in inorganic fertilizer. Microorganisms, due to their huge gene pool, are also used for a potential resource in biochemical reactions, which recycle nutrients for plant growth. Therefore, we need to modify and better use of soil microbiota to promote plant growth. In this review, we mainly summarized the role of soil microbiota by explaining the ecological balance, nitrogen fixation, nutrient elements, interactions and communication medium. Keywords