Role of Biofertilizers in Conservation Agriculture

In the present time, chemical fertilizers are more in practice for crop production which affected the soil and environment quality. The higher amount of chemical inputs in agricultural production system affected the sustainability of the agricultural crop production systems, increased cost of cultivation, and caused partial factor productivity decline, and maintaining the global food security and environmental quality became a daunting challenge. Indiscriminate and imbalanced use of fertilizers, mostly urea, and the poor application of organic matter to cropland have led to considerable reduction in soil health. Nowadays our agriculture has shifted to old-age practice like conservation agriculture. It is using old tool and techniques with incorporation of modern science and scientific principles. In general, biofertilizer is organic in nature containing an effective particular microorganism in a concentrated form which originated either from the plant root nodule or from the soil of the rhizosphere. Biofertilizers have emerged as potential environment-friendly inputs that are benefited for agricultural crop production system. They hold vast prospective in fulfilling the plant nutrient requirements, which are reducing the chemical fertilizer application and minimizing environmental pollution. The bioinoculants are used as a seed treatment or soil treatment, improving plant nutrient availability and finally crop growth and yield. These contain living cells of diverse types of microorganisms and have the potential to solubilize and mobilize plant nutrient elements from insoluble form through biological process and also fix atmospheric nitrogen. The adequate use of biofertilizers helps in maintaining soil quality and thus provides a low-cost approach to manage crop yield along with protecting the environment.