Biofertilizers

One of the major concerns in today's world is the pollution and contamination of soil. The use
of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has caused tremendous harm to the environment. An
answer to this is the biofertilizer, an environmentally friendly fertilizer now used in most
countries. Biofertilizers are organisms that enrich the nutrient quality of soil. The main sources
of biofertilizers are bacteria, fungi, and cynobacteria (blue-green algae). The most striking
relationship that these have with plants is symbiosis, in which the partners derive benefits from
each other.

Plants have a number of relationships with fungi, bacteria, and

algae, the most common of which are with mycorrhiza,
rhizobium, and cyanophyceae. These are known to deliver a
number of benefits including plant nutrition, disease
resistance, and tolerance to adverse soil and climatic
conditions. These techniques have proved to be successful
biofertilizers that form a health relationship with the roots.

Biofertilizers will help solve such problems as increased

salinity of the soil and chemical run-offs from the agricultural
fields. Thus, biofertilizers are important if we are to ensure a healthy future for the generations
to come.

Mycorrhiza

Mycorrhizae are a group of fungi that include a number of types based on the different
structures formed inside or outside the root. These are specific fungi that match with a number
of favourable parameters of the the host plant on which it grows. This includes soil type, the
presence of particular chemicals in the soil types, and other conditions.

These fungi grow on the roots of these plants. In fact, seedlings that have mycorrhizal fungi
growing on their roots survive better after transplantation and grow faster. The fungal symbiont
gets shelter and food from the plant which, in turn, acquires an array of benefits such as better
uptake of phosphorus, salinity and drought tolerance, maintenance of water balance, and
overall increase in plant growth and development.

While selecting fungi, the right fungi have to be matched with the plant. There are specific
fungi for vegetables, fodder crops, flowers, trees, etc.

Mycorrhizal fungi can increase the yield of a plot of land by 30%-40%. It can absorb
phosphorus from the soil and pass it on to the plant. Mycorrhizal plants show higher tolerance
to high soil temperatures, various soil- and root-borne pathogens, and heavy metal toxicity.
Legume-rhizobium relationship

Leguminous plants require high quantities of nitrogen compared to other plants. Nitrogen is
an inert gas and its uptake is possible only in fixed form, which is facilitated by the rhizobium
bacteria present in the nodules of the root system. The bacterium lives in the soil to form root
nodules (i.e. outgrowth on roots) in plants such as beans, gram, groundnut, and soybean.

Blue-green algae

Blue-green algae are considered the simplest, living autotrophic plants, i.e. organisms capable
of building up food materials from inorganic matter. They are microscopic. Blue-green algae
are widely distributed in the aquatic environment. Some of them are responsible for water
blooms in stagnant water. They adapt to extreme weather conditions and are found in snow and
in hot springs, where the water is 85 °C.

Certain blue-green algae live intimately with other organisms in a symbiotic relationship. Some
are associated with the fungi in form of lichens. The ability of blue-green algae
tophotosynthesize food and fix atmospheric nitrogen accounts for their symbiotic associations
and also for their presence in paddy fields.

Blue-green algae are of immense economic value as they add organic matter to the soil and
increase soil fertility. Barren alkaline lands in India have been reclaimed and made productive
by inducing the proper growth of certain blue-green algae.

Benefits of biofertilizers

Bio-fertilisers are living microorganisms of bacterial, fungal and algal origin. Their mode of
action differs and can be applied alone or in combination.
 Biofertilizers fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil and root nodules of legume crops and
make it available to the plant.
 They solubilise the insoluble forms of phosphates like tricalcium, iron and aluminium
phosphates into available forms.
 They scavenge phosphate from soil layers.
 They produce hormones and anti metabolites which promote root growth.
 They decompose organic matter and help in mineralization in soil.
 When applied to seed or soil, biofertilizers increase the availability of nutrients and
improve the yield by 10 to 25% without adversely affecting the soil and environment.

 1. Biofertilizers
 Biofertilizers are defined as preparations containing living cells or latent cells of
efficient strains of microorganisms that help crop plants’ uptake of nutrients by their
interactions in the rhizosphere when applied through seed or soil. They accelerate
certain microbial processes in the soil which augment the extent of availability of
nutrients in a form easily assimilated by plants.
 Very often microorganisms are not as efficient in natural surroundings as one would
expect them to be and therefore artificially multiplied cultures of efficient selected
microorganisms play a vital role in accelerating the microbial processes in soil.
 Use of biofertilizers is one of the important components of integrated nutrient
management, as they are cost effective and renewable source of plant nutrients to
supplement the chemical fertilizers for sustainable agriculture. Several microorganisms
and their association with crop plants are being exploited in the production of
biofertilizers. They can be grouped in different ways based on their nature and function.

S.
Groups Examples
No.
N2 fixing Biofertilizers
Azotobacter, Beijerinkia, Clostridium,
1. Free-living
Klebsiella, Anabaena, Nostoc,
Rhizobium, Frankia, Anabaena
2. Symbiotic
azollae
Associative
3. Azospirillum
Symbiotic
P Solubilizing Biofertilizers
Bacillus megaterium var.
phosphaticum, Bacillus subtilis
1. Bacteria
Bacillus circulans, Pseudomonas
striata
2. Fungi Penicillium sp, Aspergillus awamori
P Mobilizing Biofertilizers
Glomus sp.,Gigaspora
Arbuscular
1. sp.,Acaulospora sp.,
mycorrhiza
Scutellospora sp. & Sclerocystis sp.
 Laccaria sp., Pisolithus sp., Boletus
2. Ectomycorrhiza
sp., Amanita sp.
3. Ericoid mycorrhizae Pezizella ericae
4. Orchid mycorrhiza Rhizoctonia solani
Biofertilizers for Micro nutrients
Silicate and Zinc
1. Bacillus sp.
solubilizers
Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria
1. Pseudomonas Pseudomonas fluorescens
 Top

 2. Different types of biofertilizers

Rhizobium
Rhizobium is a soil habitat bacterium, which can able to colonize
the legume roots and fixes the atmospheric nitrogen symbiotically.
The morphology and physiology of Rhizobium will vary from free-
living condition to the bacteroid of nodules. They are the most
efficient biofertilizer as per the quantity of nitrogen fixed concerned.
They have seven genera and highly specific to form nodule in
legumes, referred as cross inoculation group.

Rhizobium inoculant was first made in USA and commercialized by

private enterprise in 1930s and the strange situation at that time has
been chronicled by Fred (1932).

Initially, due to absence of efficient bradyrhizobial strains in soil,

soybean inoculation at that time resulted in bumper crops but
incessant inoculation during the last four decades by US farmers has
resulted in the build up of a plethora of inefficient strains in soil
whose replacement by efficient strains of bradyrhizobia has become
an insurmountable problem.

Azotobacter
Of the several species of Azotobacter, A. chroococcum happens
to be the dominant inhabitant in arable soils capable of fixing
N2 (2-15 mg N2 fixed /g of carbon source) in culture media.

The bacterium produces abundant slime which helps in soil

aggregation. The numbers of A. chroococcum in Indian soils
rarely exceeds 105/g soil due to lack of organic matter and the
presence of antagonistic microorganisms in soil.

Azospirillum
 Azospirillum lipoferum and A. brasilense (Spirillum lipoferum in
earlier literature) are primary inhabitants of soil, the rhizosphere
and intercellular spaces of root cortex of graminaceous plants.
They perform the associative symbiotic relation with the
graminaceous plants.

The bacteria of Genus Azospirillum are N2 fixing organisms

isolated from the root and above ground parts of a variety of crop
plants. They are Gram negative, Vibrio or Spirillum having
abundant accumulation of polybetahydroxybutyrate (70 %) in
cytoplasm.

Five species of Azospirillum have been described to date A.

brasilense, A.lipoferum, A.amazonense, A.halopraeferens and
A.irakense. The organism proliferates under both anaerobic and
aerobic conditions but it is preferentially micro-aerophilic in the
presence or absence of combined nitrogen in the medium.

Apart from nitrogen fixation, growth promoting substance

production (IAA), disease resistance and drought tolerance are
some of the additional benefits due to Azospirillum inoculation.

Cyanobacteria
Both free-living as well as symbiotic cyanobacteria (blue
green algae) have been harnessed in rice cultivation in India.
A composite culture of BGA having heterocystous Nostoc,
Anabaena, Aulosira etc. is given as primary inoculum in
trays, polythene lined pots and later mass multiplied in the
field for application as soil based flakes to the rice growing
field at the rate of 10 kg/ha. The final product is not free from
extraneous contaminants and not very often monitored for
checking the presence of desiredalgal flora.

Once so much publicized as a biofertilizer for the rice crop, it

has not presently attracted the attention of rice growers all
over India except pockets in the Southern States, notably
Tamil Nadu. The benefits due to algalization could be to the
extent of 20-30 kg N/ha under ideal conditions but the labour
oriented methodology for the preparation of BGA
biofertilizer is in itself a limitation. Quality control measures
are not usually followed except perhaps for random checking
for the presence of desired species qualitatively.

 Azolla
 Azolla is a free-floating water fern that floats in water and fixes atmospheric nitrogen
in association with nitrogen fixing blue green alga Anabaena azollae. Azolla fronds
consist of sporophyte with a floating rhizome and small overlapping bi-lobed leaves
and roots. Rice growing areas in South East Asia and other third World countries have
recently been evincing increased interest in the use of the symbiotic N2 fixing water
 fern Azolla either as an alternate nitrogen sources or as a supplement to commercial
nitrogen fertilizers. Azolla is used as biofertilizer for wetland rice and it is known to
contribute 40-60 kg N/ha per rice crop.
 Phosphate solubilizing microorganisms(PSM)

Several soil bacteria and fungi, notably species of

Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Penicillium, Aspergillus etc.
secrete organic acids and lower the pH in their vicinity
to bring about dissolution of bound phosphates in soil.
Increased yields of wheat and potato were
demonstrated due to inoculation of peat based cultures
of Bacillus polymyxa and Pseudomonas striata.
Currently, phosphate solubilizers are manufactured by
agricultural universities and some private enterprises
and sold to farmers through governmental agencies.
These appear to be no check on either the quality of the
inoculants marketed in India or the establishment of the
desired organisms in the rhizosphere.

 AM fungi

The transfer of nutrients mainly phosphorus and also zinc and

sulphur from the soil milleu to the cells of the root cortex is
mediated by intracellular obligate fungal endosymbionts of
the genera Glomus, Gigaspora, Acaulospora, Sclerocysts and
Endogone which possess vesicles for storage of nutrients and
arbuscles for funneling these nutrients into the root system. By
far, the commonest genus appears to be Glomus, which has
several species distributed in soil.

Availability for pure cultures of AM (Arbuscular Mycorrhiza)

fungi is an impediment in large scale production despite the
fact that beneficial effects of AM fungal inoculation to plants
have been repeatedly shown under experimental conditions in
the laboratory especially in conjunction with other nitrogen
fixers.