[PDF] Bioaugmentation, Biostimulation and Biocontrol by Ajay, Nagina and Ramesh

Bioaugmentation, Biostimulation and Biocontrol by Ajay, Nagina and Ramesh :: Soils sustain an immense diversity of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Microbial functions in ecosystems are as diverse as the microbes themselves. Microbes adapt to these microhabitats and live together in consortia, interacting with each other and with other parts of the soil biota. Microorganisms play an essential role in the functioning and sustaining of all natural ecosystems including biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and biodegradation.

Plant–microbe interactions involving plant growth-promoting rhizosphere microorganisms (PGPRs) are of beneficial agricultural importance, e.g., improve plant productivity, suppress disease-causing microbes and nematodes, and accelerate nutrient availability and assimilation. PGPRs compensate for the stress and reduction in plant growth caused by weed infestation, drought, heavy metals, salt, and other unfavorable environmental conditions and are frequently used as biofertilizers. Biochemical and molecular tools are continuously being developed in an attempt to better appreciate microbial abundance and distribution in natural environments to evaluate community structures with ecosystem functions and to develop appropriate biofertilization and remediation approaches.