Soil microbes for sustainable agriculture

Abstract

Soils are habitats for major forms of life such as microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, archaea, fungi) as well as insects, annelids, algae, and plants. Microorganisms have potential roles to play in sustainable agricultural production due to their ability to promote plant growth and enhance biotic and abiotic stress resistance, remediate contaminated soils, recycle nutrients, manage soil fertility, and weather and mineralize rocks and other abilities that result in the reduced use of fertilizers or pesticides in agriculture. Recently introduced biotechnological approaches help to modify microbes that can be used to enhance bioremediation and phytoremediation of contaminated soil that can be used for agricultural production. Sustainable agriculture is essential today to meet our long-term agricultural needs by using natural resources without degrading the environment. Here, we discuss the structure and diversity of soil microorganisms and their potential role in nutrient recycling, remediation of heavy metal from contaminated environments, plant growth promotion, stress tolerance, phytohormone production, etc. for sustainable agriculture to feed future generations.