Over the years in my position as a soil microbiologist at Texas A&M University working with beneficial soil microbes and teaching soil microbiology to a very diverse audience of students I have been approached by many people with countless questions regarding the nature of soil microbes and their normal functions in soils, both cropped and uncropped, including turfgrass soils. The questions have been as diverse…

The American Society of Microbiologists (ASM) recently released a treasure trove of their latest research and is eager to get it into the hands of farmers. Acknowledging that farmers will need to produce 70 to 100 percent more food to feed the projected 9 billion humans that will inhabit the earth by 2050, they remain refreshingly optimistic in their work. The introduction to their latest report states:…

Polymicrobial formulations for enhancing plant productivity CA 2828012 A1  (ABSTRACT) The present invention relates to eco-friendly compositions and methods for providing plant growth enhancing formulations comprising mixtures of microbial isolates. In particular, numerous bacterial and fungal strains were isolated from a variety of soil types, from rhizospheres and from root nodules of leguminous plants, in designed combinations, for providing plant growth and plant productivity enhancing…

Bioprotectant with multifunctional microorganisms: A new dimension in plant protection Lalithakumari Janarthanam  (ABSTRACT) In the present investigations it is proved that the inoculation of multifunctional microbial formulation to the soil improves soil quality, soil health, plant health, growth, yield, and quality of a broad spectrum of crops reducing chemical fertilizer and pesticide input. These microbial populations consist of selected species including plant growth promoting rhizo-bacteria,…

Polymicrobial Multi-functional Approach for Enhancement of Crop Productivity. Reddy CA1, Saravanan RS. (ABSTRACT) There is an increasing global need for enhancing the food production to meet the needs of the fast-growing human population. Traditional approach to increasing agricultural productivity through high inputs of chemical nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers and pesticides is not sustainable because of high costs and concerns about global warming, environmental pollution, and…

Bacteria and fungi can contribute to nutrients bioavailability and aggregate formation in degraded soils. Rashid, Mujawar, Shahzad, Almeelbi, Ismail, Oves. Author information (ABSTRACT) Intensive agricultural practices and cultivation of exhaustive crops has deteriorated soil fertility and its quality in agroecosystems. According to an estimate, such practices will convert 30% of the total world cultivated soil into degraded land by 2020. Soil structure and fertility loss…

Biofertilizers: a potential approach for sustainable agriculture development. Mahanty, Bhattacharjee, Goswami, Bhattacharyya, Das, Ghosh, Tribedi. (ABSTRACT) The worldwide increase in human population raises a big threat to the food security of each people as the land for agriculture is limited and even getting reduced with time. Therefore, it is essential that agricultural productivity should be enhanced significantly within the next few decades to meet the…

How Microbes Can Help Feed the World Authors: Ann Reid, Shannon Greene Publication Date : August 2013 “How Microbes can Help Feed the World” looks in depth at the intimate relationship between microbes and agriculture including why plants need microbes, what types of microbes they need, how they interact and the scientific challenges posed by the current state of knowledge. It then makes a series…