Potassium-solubilizing bacteria and their application in agriculture

Abstract

Potassium (K) is one of the major macronutrients which play an important role in plant growth and development. Total soil potassium reserves are generally large; however, major portion of it exists in insoluble K minerals and very little potassium becomes available to plants. There are certain microorganisms which use a number of biological processes to make potassium available from unavailable forms. These potassium-solubilizing bacteria (KSB) can be used as a promising approach to increase K availability in soils, thus playing an important role for crop establishment under K-limited soils. Owing to naturally available source of potassium in soil and high price of synthetic potassium fertilizers, the importance of KSB is increasing day by day. The use of chemical fertilizers can be decreased by using KSB in agriculture that can lead to sustainable agriculture. A number of workers have demonstrated the role of KSB in crop improvement. The present review highlights the importance of KSB for enhancing crop production. The mechanisms used by KSB for K solubilization have been discussed. The work of various scientists regarding plant growth promotion through KSB has been reviewed in detail, and present constraints and future scope of this technology have also been discussed.