scholarly journals PLANT-BENEFICIAL MICROBIAL INOCULANTS AND THEIR FORMULATION – A REVIEW

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 32-43
Author(s):  
Lavinia Diana Nicoleta Barbu ◽  
Oana-Alina Boiu-Sicuia

" Agriculture plays a crucial role in the society and global economy and has a huge impact on the environment. Human overpopulation require higher amounts of food, and due to the overwhelming increase of health disorder it is a consumer demand for high quality food products. However, intensive agricultural practices involve the use of synthetic substances, with negative effects on human health and environmental safety. These triggered the concern of global regulatory agencies for new strategies and harsh regulations regarding agricultural inputs. Sustainable agriculture practices, including the use of renewable resources are now promoted. Biofertilizers, biopesticides and biostimulants contribute to agricultural yield and quality improvement, having a low detrimental impact on the environment. Microbial inoculants based on selected microorganisms are promising products that can improve plant growth and productivity and prevent crops from pest and diseases attack, being an environmental friendly approach. Plant beneficial microorganisms trigger various mechanisms for soil improvement, nitrogen fixation, nutrients solubilization and uptake in plants. Some beneficial microorganisms can release active biomolecule involved in plant protection, or suppress biotic and abiotic stress factors, revealing plant or environmental benefits. This study aims to review plant beneficial microbial agro-inoculants, successful formulations and application methods."

2000 ◽  
Vol 355 (1402) ◽  
pp. 1499-1510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Grace ◽  
Barry A. Logan

Environmental stresses such as high light, low temperatures, pathogen infection and nutrient deficiency can lead to increased production of free radicals and other oxidative species in plants. A growing body of evidence suggests that plants respond to these biotic and abiotic stress factors by increasing their capacity to scavenge reactive oxygen species. Efforts to understand this acclimatory process have focused on the components of the ‘classical’ antioxidant system, i.e. superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, monodehydroascorbate reductase, glutathione reductase and the low molecular weight antioxidants ascorbate and glutathione. However, relatively few studies have explored the role of secondary metabolic pathways in plant response to oxidative stress. A case in point is the phenylpropanoid pathway, which is responsible for the synthesis of a diverse array of phenolic metabolites such as flavonoids, tannins, hydroxycinnamate esters and the structural polymer lignin. These compounds are often induced by stress and serve specific roles in plant protection, i.e. pathogen defence, ultraviolet screening, antiherbivory, or structural components of the cell wall. This review will highlight a novel antioxidant function for the taxonomically widespread phenylpropanoid metabolite chlorogenic acid (CGA; 5- O -caffeoylquinic acid) and assess its possible role in abiotic stress tolerance. The relationship between CGA biosynthesis and photosynthetic carbon metabolism will also be discussed. Based on the properties of this model phenolic metabolite, we propose that under stress conditions phenylpropanoid biosynthesis may represent an alternative pathway for photochemical energy dissipation that has the added benefit of enhancing the antioxidant capacity of the cell.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Martínez-Fortún ◽  
Dylan W. Phillips ◽  
Huw D. Jones

Changeable biotic and abiotic stress factors that affect crop growth and productivity, alongside a drive to reduce the unintended consequences of plant protection products, will demand highly adaptive farm management practices as well as access to continually improved seed varieties. The former is limited mainly by cost and, in theory, could be implemented in relatively short time frames. The latter is fundamentally a longer-term activity where genome editing can play a major role. The first targets for genome editing will inevitably be loss-of-function alleles, because these are straightforward to generate. In addition, they are likely to focus on traits under simple genetic control and where the results of modification are already well understood from null alleles in existing gene pools or other knockout or silencing approaches such as induced mutations or RNA interference. In the longer term, genome editing will underpin more fundamental changes in agricultural performance and food quality, and ultimately will merge with the tools and philosophies of synthetic biology to underpin and enable new cellular systems, processes and organisms completely. The genetic changes required for simple allele edits or knockout phenotypes are synonymous with those found naturally in conventional breeding material and should be regulated as such. The more radical possibilities in the longer term will need societal engagement along with appropriate safety and ethical oversight.


Author(s):  
Hasrat Arjjumend ◽  
Konstantia Koutouki ◽  
Olga Donets

The use of unsustainable levels of chemical fertilizers and plant protection chemicals has resulted in a steady decline in soil and crop productivity the world over. Soil biology has undergone irreversible damage, coupled with a high concentration of toxic chemical residues in plant tissues and human bodies. Agricultural practices must evolve to sustainably meet the growing global demand for food without irreversibly damaging soil. Microbial biocontrol agents have tremendous potential to bring sustainability to agriculture in a way that is safe for the environment. Biopesticides do not kill non-target insects, and biosafety is ensured because biopesticides act as antidotes and do not lead to chemical contamination in the soil. This article is part of a larger study conducted in Ukraine by researchers at the Université de Montréal with the support of Mitacs and Earth Alive Clean Technologies. The responses of farmers who use biofertilizers (“user farmers”) and those who do not (“non-user farmers”), along with the responses of manufacturers or suppliers of biofertilizers, and research and development (R&D) scientists are captured to demonstrate the advantages of applying microbial biopesticides to field crops. Participants reported a 15-30% increase in yields and crop production after the application of biopesticides. With the use of biopesticides, farmers cultivated better quality fruits, grains, and tubers with a longer shelf life. Moreover, while the risk of crop loss remains high (60-70%) with chemically grown crops, this risk is reduced to 33% on average if crops are grown using biopesticides. The findings indicate that a large proportion of farmers would prefer to use biopesticides if they are effective and high quality products. In this context, the quality and effectiveness of products is therefore very important. Despite their benefits to soil, human health, and ecosystems, biopesticides face significant challenges and competition vis-à-vis synthetic pesticides for a variety of reasons. Therefore, the development of biopesticides must overcome the problems of poor quality products, short shelf life, delayed action, high market costs, and legal/registration issues.


Author(s):  
Dorin Sora ◽  
Mădălina Doltu

This study aimed to identification of an ecological alternative for the chemical disinfection of soil in the greenhouses from Romania. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most popular vegetable crops in the world. The carbohydrate, vitamins, salts of important mineral elements and organic acids content of tomato fruits is very important. Tomato crops are very sensitive to climatic vagaries, so fluctuation in climatic parameters at any phase of growth can affect the yield and the fruit quality. Grafting on Solanaceae is a method which has improved and spread quickly during the past years, a similar approach to crop rotation, a practice meant to increase productivity, resistance or tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress factors and at increasing fruit quality. The research was conducted in a glass greenhouse of the Horting Institute, Bucharest, Romania. The biological material used was a Romanian tomato hybrid (Siriana F1), a Dutch tomato hybrid (Abellus F1) and four rootstocks, a Dutch tomato hybrid (Emperador F1) and three Romanian tomato cultivars (L542, L543 and L544) obtained from the Research and Development Station for Vegetable Growing, Buzău, Romania. The rootstocks have had resistance to biotic stress factors (soil diseases and pests) and the chemical disinfection of soil has was eliminated. The result of this research are presented in this paper.


Microbiome ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sai Guo ◽  
Wu Xiong ◽  
Xinnan Hang ◽  
Zhilei Gao ◽  
Zixuan Jiao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Microbiomes play vital roles in plant health and performance, and the development of plant beneficial microbiomes can be steered by organic fertilizer inputs. Especially well-studied are fertilizer-induced changes on bacteria and fungi and how changes in these groups alter plant performance. However, impacts on protist communities, including their trophic interactions within the microbiome and consequences on plant performance remain largely unknown. Here, we tracked the entire microbiome, including bacteria, fungi, and protists, over six growing seasons of cucumber under different fertilization regimes (conventional, organic, and Trichoderma bio-organic fertilization) and linked microbial data to plant yield to identify plant growth-promoting microbes. Results Yields were higher in the (bio-)organic fertilization treatments. Soil abiotic conditions were altered by the fertilization regime, with the prominent effects coming from the (bio-)organic fertilization treatments. Those treatments also led to the pronounced shifts in protistan communities, especially microbivorous cercozoan protists. We found positive correlations of these protists with plant yield and the density of potentially plant-beneficial microorganisms. We further explored the mechanistic ramifications of these relationships via greenhouse experiments, showing that cercozoan protists can positively impact plant growth, potentially via interactions with plant-beneficial microorganisms including Trichoderma, the biological agent delivered by the bio-fertilizer. Conclusions We show that protists may play central roles in stimulating plant performance through microbiome interactions. Future agricultural practices might aim to specifically enhance plant beneficial protists or apply those protists as novel, sustainable biofertilizers.


1999 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 592-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinne Mhiri ◽  
Pierre J. G. M. De Wit ◽  
Marie-Angèle Grandbastien

The copia-like Tnt1 element of tobacco is one of the few active plant retrotransposons and is transcriptionally activated, in tobacco and in heterologous species, by biotic and abiotic stress factors. In order to establish more precisely the link between Tnt1 activation and plant defense responses, the expression of the Tnt1 promoter was studied in a gene-for-gene pathosystem, the interaction between tomato and the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum. In compatible interactions, Tnt1 expression is highly induced throughout the leaf regions colonized by the fungus, while in incompatible interactions Tnt1 induction is transient and localized in distinct foci. Tnt1 expression after fungal inoculation parallels the differential activation of tomato defense genes. Tnt1 expression is induced by nonspecific factors of plant or fungal origin present in apoplastic fluids of leaf tissues infected by virulent races of C. fulvum, but is also activated by specific factors resulting from the interaction between fungal avirulence peptides and plant resistance genes. Tnt1 activation by apoplastic fluids containing avirulence peptides of C. fulvum is detected soon after elicitation. These results demonstrate that Tnt1 transcriptional activation correlates with biological responses of tomato to infection by C. fulvum and is mediated through signals originating from both race-specific and non-race-specific perception pathways.


Author(s):  
V.S. Sergeev ◽  
◽  
D.R. Mukminov ◽  
◽  

Sugar beet is the main technical crop in the Republic of Bashkortostan. Beet growing in the region is carried out in the zone of risky agriculture. Based on the bioproducts produced for Beta vulgaris growing, the team of the BashInkom Scientific & Innovation Enterprise together with scientists from the Research Institute of Sugar Beet and Sugar and leading Russian beet growers improved and optimized the traditional technology, which, even under stressful conditions (drought, temperature decrease, waterlogging, freezing, toxic chemical oppression, lack of readily soluble nutrients) and a significant reduction in production costs, increases crop productivity by 20% and sugar content by 0.1-0.3%. Production experiments were carried out in beet-growing farms of the republic: farming company “Mukminov”, LLC “Voskhod” (Gafuri region), LLC farming company “Salavat”, LLC “Michurina” (Aurgazinsky district), LLC “Region-Agro” (Davlekanovsky district), etc. Research results confirm the effectiveness of the use of biological products and biofertilizers in sugar beet cultivation technology. The increase in the yield amounted to 2-10 t/ha compared to traditional technology; sugar content increased to 0.3%; finance costs that are attributable to the acquisition and use of biological products and bioactivated fertilizers have paid off, and high profitability is guaranteed. Conclusions: 1. Biological products and bioactivated fertilizers are an integral and mandatory element in the technology of sugar beet cultivation, as well as an innovative solution in protecting plants from environmental stress factors and in balancing plant nutrition by carrying out leaf feeding in key phases of growth and development. 2. Biologized technology allows increasing the yield of sugar beet by 20% and reducing the cost of chemical plant protection products and mineral fertilizers by 1.2-1.3 times. 3. Economic efficiency in the cultivation of sugar beet from the use of biological products and bioactivated fertilizers is up to 8 net profit per 1 RUB production costs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-387
Author(s):  
V. I. Zotikov ◽  
S. D. Vilyunov

The production of pedigree seeds is not only an important but also a cost-effective means of increasing the yield and efficiency of agriculture. The genetic potential of varieties can be unlocked only by choosing those adaptive to the soil and climatic conditions in a particular region, using modern tools for plant protection, and applying balanced mineral nutrition. These are the most important factors determining the performance. In the course of breeding and genetic work, the Federal Scientific Center of Legumes and Groat Crops (FSC LGC) has created new soybean varieties, whose high biological and economic potentials are combined with resistance to stress factors. Despite the close relationship between productivity and growing season duration, the highly productive and early-ripening (100–115 days) soybean varieties raised at FSC LGC can yield 2.5 to 3.5 t/ha, the grain having high contents of protein (37–42 %) and fat (18–22 %), depending on the climatic conditions in a particular year of cultivation. They are less temperature-sensitive than other domestic or foreign varieties. It is important that our soybean varieties are not genetically modified. New pea varieties created at FSC LGC in 2015–2020 differ in growing season duration and morphological features. They are adaptable to the soil and climatic conditions of a region, which ensures the maximum realization of their potential. The main factor in increasing yields and stabilizing the production of buckwheat and millet grain in the Russian Federation is the creation and adaption of new earlyripening and high-yielding varieties of the determinate type adapted to the specific natural and climatic conditions of different regions of Russia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabin Pandey ◽  
Madhusudhan Adhikhari ◽  
Binod Bhantana

In the world, the traditional agricultural practices are getting affected by various problems such as disease, pest, drought, decreased soil fertility due to use of hazardous chemical pesticides, pollution and global warming. As a result, there is a need for some eco-friendly bio-control agents that help in resolving the previous mentioned problems. The various types of biological control agents such as bacteria and fungi are involved in bio-control activity. Among them, fungal genus Trichoderma plays a major role in controlling the plant diseases. Species of Trichoderma are diverse fungal microbial community known and explored worldwide for their versatilities as biocontrol and growth promoting agents. These fungi reproduce asexually by production of conidia and chlamydospores and in wild habitats by ascospores. Trichoderma species are efficient mycoparasites and prolific producers of secondary metabolites, some of which have clinical importance. However, the ecological or biological significance of this metabolite diversity is sorely lagging behind the chemical significance. Several Trichoderma spp. positively affect plants by stimulating plant growth, and protecting plants from fungal and bacterial pathogens. They are used in biological plant protection as bio-fungicides as well as in bioremediation. A large number of research groups are working on various aspects of Trichoderma viz., diversity, ecology and their applications. The capacity of Trichoderma fungi to produce lytic enzymes is used in animal feed, and wine making and brewery industries. Trichoderma spp. are the most successful bio-control agents as more than 60% of the registered bio-fungicides used in today’s agriculture belongs to Trichoderma -based formulation. The increase in incidence and severity of diseases and emergence of new diseases causes the significant yield losses of different crops in Nepal. But the research and studies on plant diseases are limited. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(3): 309-316  


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepti Mittal ◽  
Gurjeet Kaur ◽  
Parul Singh ◽  
Karmveer Yadav ◽  
Syed Azmal Ali

In the current scenario, it is an urgent requirement to satisfy the nutritional demands of the rapidly growing global population. Using conventional farming, nearly one third of crops get damaged, mainly due to pest infestation, microbial attacks, natural disasters, poor soil quality, and lesser nutrient availability. More innovative technologies are immediately required to overcome these issues. In this regard, nanotechnology has contributed to the agrotechnological revolution that has imminent potential to reform the resilient agricultural system while promising food security. Therefore, nanoparticles are becoming a new-age material to transform modern agricultural practices. The variety of nanoparticle-based formulations, including nano-sized pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers, and sensors, have been widely investigated for plant health management and soil improvement. In-depth understanding of plant and nanomaterial interactions opens new avenues toward improving crop practices through increased properties such as disease resistance, crop yield, and nutrient utilization. In this review, we highlight the critical points to address current nanotechnology-based agricultural research that could benefit productivity and food security in future.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document