The book encompasses different Agriculturally Important microorganisms (AIMs), mechanisms of action and modes of application for sustainable agriculture. The potential of microbes in nitrogen ...fixation, solubilizing nutrients like phosphorous, Potassium, tolerance to etc. are the major strength of the book. There is relatively a new frontier, use of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria(PGPR)in enhancing crop productivity. These microbes inhabit at the rhizospheric region of the root and facilitate plant growth through a variety of direct and indirect mechanisms. These PGP have been identified to solubilize phosphate, Potassium, Zinc, produce siderophore, IAA, Hydrogencyanide, fix ammonia and many more. Today, such microbes are extensively studied not only as a biofertilizer or fortification of nutrient to the plant, but also a potential agent to decrease application of chemical fertilizer and other agrochemicals. The book also gives an insight to this aspect also. Last but not the least, a light has been thrown on use and application of nano-biofertilizer for sustainable agriculture.
Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) play an important role in crop production by improving plant growth through various mechanisms that potentially increase sustainable agriculture. ...Blackberry (Rubus spp.) cultivation has acquired importance for its worldwide merchandising, including its high economic profitability, and for the health benefits in human consumption of the fruit. The quality of blackberry production depends on a good vegetative plant development; therefore, this research objective was to select strains of PGPR that stimulate vegetative growth of blackberry plants grown under greenhouse. The experiment was carried out using seedlings of the 'Tupy' blackberry, under a completely randomized design, using six rhizobacterial strains as treatments (A46, AC-35, P61, R44, BSP1.1, JLB4) and a control (no inoculated) with six replicates each. The plants were in the greenhouse for 78 d. At destructive sampling eight agronomical variables were determined. The results showed that strains A46 and P61 inoculated on blackberry plants stimulated height (45%), stem diameter (17%), leaf area (110%), and shoot DM (150%). Inoculation of strain A46 on blackberry plants increased nutrient extraction of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, B, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn. Pseudomonas tolaasii strains P61 and A46 stimulated growth and nutrient extraction in blackberry plants, and these will be selected to inoculate the blackberry crop for production under greenhouse conditions. Key words: Biomass, nutrient extraction, rhizobacteria, Rubus spp., vegetative development.
As an effective field management practice for better crop productivity, fertilization showed profound impacts on soil health by altering soil chemical, physical, and biological processes. But, how ...soil health and related ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) respond to long-term fertilization remains unclear. In this study, based on a 29-year field experiment, we evaluated soil health and EMF under chemical fertilization versus manure application. Long-term manure application maintained soil pH, significantly increased water-stable aggregate, total and available nutrients, microbial biomass and community (bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes, etc.), and enzyme activities compared with treatments under chemical fertilizers. Edaphic factors of soil organic carbon (SOC), available phosphorous (AP), fungi, cation exchange capacity, and clay content were identified as key indicators of soil health evaluation by network analysis. The soil health indices (SHIs) of chemical fertilizer treatments were 39–52% lower than that of natural vegetation recovery, with carbon and nutrient cycling, soil biodiversity maintenance, and productivity at low ecosystem function levels. Manure application enhanced soil health by 150–196% compared to unfertilized control by improving SOC, P availability, and sustaining ecosystem functions with carbon and nutrient cycling, soil biodiversity maintenance, buffering and filtering capacity, and productivity at relatively high ecosystem function levels. The individual functions of carbon and nutrient cycling, physical structure stability, and productivity illustrated sensitive responses to the increase in soil health, while inherent soil functions of buffering and filtering capacity and soil biodiversity maintenance were only correlated with high soil health. Manuring improved soil functions and soil health simultaneously, indicating a synergistic relationship. Our findings highlight the significance of manure application to improve soil health and sustain functions in intensive agricultural systems.
•SOC, AP, fungi, clay content, and CEC were identified as key indicators.•Natural vegetation recovery improved SHI compared with chemical fertilization.•Manuring improved soil health by sustaining soil multifunction at high levels.•Soil functions had diverse responses to soil health shifts.
The intensification of agriculture to meet the ever-increasing demand for food has exerted a negative impact on the ecosystem. Conservation agriculture has been highlighted as a comprehensive ...approach to sustainability. The present study aimed to assess the performance of conservation agriculture (CA) on plant growth, and its impact on bacterial community composition, specifically guilds involved in nitrogen (N) cycling, in comparison to conventional (CT), and organic agriculture (OA). A field experiment was set up with Cajanus cajan (pigeonpea) under the three agricultural practices with a total of nine modules. The rhizospheric bacterial community composition was examined using Illumina sequencing with the 16S rRNA gene as a marker. The bacterial community involved in nitrogen cycling was examined by analysis of key genes involved in pathways, viz. nitrogen fixation (nifH), nitrification (amoA), and denitrification (narG and nirK) by qPCR. Plant growth parameters and grain yield of C.cajan were relatively higher in CA-based modules. Enhanced abundances of genes involved in the N cycle were observed under CA compared to CT and OA. CA had the highest alpha diversity at the phylum level, while CT had the lowest. Proteobacteria (28%), Planctomycetes (15–19%), Acidobacteria (10–12%), and Bacteroidetes (10–15%) were the dominant phyla across the three agricultural practices. A significant correlation could be drawn between the performance of agricultural management practice, and bacterial community structure and function. The research adds to our understanding of the various mechanisms involved in the promotion of plant growth and soil diversity under sustainable means of agriculture. Besides it emphasizes the significance of rhizospheric bacterial communities as ecological indicators for soil health in arable land.
•Field study comparing three agricultural practices with pigeonpea as model crop.•Structure of rhizospheric bacterial community assessed by next generation sequencing.•Emphasis on quantitative analysis of key markers of nitrogen cycle.•Conservation agriculture observed to be the best in terms of plant parameters.•Higher yield correlated with increased bacterial diversity and nitrogen cycle genes.
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•We analyzed how cover cropping affected 38 soil health indicators.•Cover crop caused significant changes in 28 of 38 soil health indicators.•Based on the results of 13 indicators, we ...developed a soil health calculator.
Many producers use cover crops as a means to increase soil health and agricultural productivity, yet benefits of this practice vary depending on environmental and management conditions. In an effort to objectively evaluate how cover crops affect soil properties and crop production across climates and systems, we compiled data from 269 studies that compared cover crop treatments versus no cover crop controls. We then used t-tests and unbalanced analysis of variation tests to evaluate cover crop-related effects on 38 indicators of soil health and productivity. The t-test analysis indicated that cover cropping caused significant changes in 28 of 38 indicators, with differences seen for all physical parameters and most indicators associated with biological and environmental measurements. The unbalanced analysis of variation test allowed us to identify a hierarchy of most to least important environment and management factors for each indicator. Using this hierarchy, we developed a calculator that allows users to evaluate how cover crop usage affects 13 key indicators, including cash crop yield, weed pressure, soil aggregate stability, soil organic carbon, soil nitrogen, and infiltration rates. The calculator requires only four inputs – climatic region, soil texture group, cash crop rotation, and cover crop type – and as output provides mean percent change for each indicator based on the selected factors. The analyses produced in this study provide new insight into specific soil health and productivity responses to cover cropping, and the corresponding web-based calculator will help to ensure that soil health measurements from the field and laboratory are useful to farmers, planners, and regulators. Further, as more data becomes integrated into the calculator, results will continue to improve in accuracy and realism, ultimately helping to make soil health evaluation a practical outcome for more producers.
Examines the patterns of continuity and change in Canadian agricultural policy making in important areas like farm income support programs, prairie grain marketing, supply management, animal and food ...product safety, and the regulation of genetically modified crops and foods.
