The primary goal of agricultural microbiology is to comprehensively explore the interactions between beneficial microorganisms like bacteria and fungi with crops.
Once the microbial community is established, these microorganisms can help to solubilize and break down essential nutrients in the environment which would otherwise be unavailable or difficult for the crop to incorporate into biomass.
Under most soil conditions, phosphorus is the least mobile nutrient in the environment and therefore must be converted to solubilized forms in order to be available for plant uptake.
In addition to the solubilized phosphate, PBS can also provide trace elements such as iron and zinc which further enhance plant growth.
Phosphate solubilizing and mobilizing microorganisms can contribute upwards of 30–50 kg P2O5/ha which, in turn, has the potential to increase crop yield by 10–20%.
Furthermore, this application of effective microorganism biotechnology spans a range of agricultural areas, including soil rejuvenation, crop cultivation, livestock farming, and food preservation.
The use of agricultural chemicals has been linked to the decline of plant and animal species, as well as harm to soil biodiversity, including bacterial and fungal communities.
[12][13] Chemical plant protection products can alter agricultural soils by affecting their physical properties such as texture, permeability, and porosity.
Given the challenges posed by a growing global population and the need for more and higher-quality food, the future of agriculture lies in using effective microorganisms to boost yields.
[14] Successful crop production hinges on the health of the soil, which is influenced by a network of biological, chemical, and physical processes driven by microorganisms.
Effective microorganisms also accelerate the decomposition of organic waste, which promotes composting and, therefore, increases the availability of valuable minerals and bolsters the activities of indigenous microbes.
This natural balancing act leads to stronger, more resilient plants and higher crop yields, positioning effective microorganisms as a key player in the future of sustainable agriculture.
[19] Changing temperatures can have the effect of increasing the abundance and ability of plant pathogens to produce negative impacts in agricultural ecosystems.
[20] However, there currently is a lack of information about how to predict how elevated levels of CO2 can change the interactions between plants and potential pathogens across many different plant-pathogen relationships.