Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) as Green Bioinoculants: Recent Developments, Constraints, and Prospects

Anirban Basu, Priyanka Prasad, Subha Narayan Das, Sadaf Kalam, R. Z. Sayyed, M. S. Reddy and Hesham El Enshasy
Additional contact information
Anirban Basu: Department of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Telangana 500046, India
Priyanka Prasad: Department of Botany, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak 484887, India
Subha Narayan Das: Department of Botany, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak 484887, India
Sadaf Kalam: Department of Biochemistry, St. Ann’s College for Women, Hyderabad 500028, India
R. Z. Sayyed: Department of Microbiology, PSGVP Mandal’s Arts, Science and Commerce College, Shahada 425409, India
M. S. Reddy: Asian PGPR Society for Sustainable Agriculture & Auburn Ventures, Department of Plant Pathology and Entomology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Hesham El Enshasy: Institute of Bioproduct Development (IBD), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Skudai, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-20

Abstract: The quest for enhancing agricultural yields due to increased pressure on food production has inevitably led to the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and other agrochemicals. Biofertilizers are emerging as a suitable alternative to counteract the adverse environmental impacts exerted by synthetic agrochemicals. Biofertilizers facilitate the overall growth and yield of crops in an eco-friendly manner. They contain living or dormant microbes, which are applied to the soil or used for treating crop seeds. One of the foremost candidates in this respect is rhizobacteria. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are an important cluster of beneficial, root-colonizing bacteria thriving in the plant rhizosphere and bulk soil. They exhibit synergistic and antagonistic interactions with the soil microbiota and engage in an array of activities of ecological significance. They promote plant growth by facilitating biotic and abiotic stress tolerance and support the nutrition of host plants. Due to their active growth endorsing activities, PGPRs are considered an eco-friendly alternative to hazardous chemical fertilizers. The use of PGPRs as biofertilizers is a biological approach toward the sustainable intensification of agriculture. However, their application for increasing agricultural yields has several pros and cons. Application of potential biofertilizers that perform well in the laboratory and greenhouse conditions often fails to deliver the expected effects on plant development in field settings. Here we review the different types of PGPR-based biofertilizers, discuss the challenges faced in the widespread adoption of biofertilizers, and deliberate the prospects of using biofertilizers to promote sustainable agriculture.

Keywords: biofertilizer; bioinoculant; PGPR; rhizosphere; sustainable agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

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