Biofertilizer: An Eco-friendly Approach for Sustainable Crop Production

The intensity of land use has escalated because of the ever-increasing human population globally and this has furthered numerous environmental problems including global warming, loss of biodiversity, eutrophication of water bodies and depletion of topsoil. To combat the various challenges involved with the excessive use of chemical fertilizers, sustainable agriculture has been proposed as a method to increase crop yield while maintaining environmental integrity. The exploitation of soil microbes has been seen as an alternative method for the improvement of crop production relative to chemical fertilizers. Herein, we describe the consequences of the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and the concept of sustainable agriculture. We also present plant growth promoting rhizobacteria as biofertilizers and describe their mechanisms of action in enhancing crop yield. A good understanding of this would lead to an increased usage of biofertilizers. More dependence on internal regulatory processes would also advance sustainable ecosystem functioning and boost crop productivity.