Microbial consortia: approaches in crop production and yield enhancement

Abstract The problem of food insecurity has worsened in the past several decades due to the population explosion and climate change. The use of agrochemicals, however, provided some respite but had its own demerits. In this context, microbial consortia hold very good promise for achieving sustainable agricultural production. In a microbial consortium, microbial interactions and growth lead to a synergistic response. Through their interactions, microbes are able to suppress the growth of phytopathogens and they also lead to plant growth promotion. The former relates to the biopesticide activity, while the latter encompasses the biofertilizer activity of microbial consortia. Plant growth promotion by a microbial consortium is brought about by the production of phytohormones, solubilization of nutrients, nitrogen fixation, and also siderophore production. Considering these aspects, microbial consortia are finding great applicability in modern agricultural practices. However, the selection of microbes is an important requisite for their success. Microbial interactions (cross talk), metabolic buildup of residual products and competition for limiting resources limit the optimum utilization of consortia for enhancing agricultural produce. Recent developments in proteomics, metabolomics, and computational modeling may prove useful in improving the usefulness of the desired microbes for utilization in a consortium. The present chapter aims to highlight some of these important aspects of a microbial consortium.