Utility of Biofertilizers for Soil Sustainability

Modern agriculture is almost entirely reliant on the supply and utilization of agrochemicals, such as fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides, to maintain and boost agriculture productivity. Heavy use of chemical fertilizers has resulted in numerous adverse effects on the environment and human health. Biofertilizers have emerged as an eco-friendly, inexpensive, and renewable alternative to restore, enhance, and maintain soil fertility, soil health, and crop yield. Biofertilizers are beneficial microbes, including plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, mycorrhizal fungi, cyanobacteria, and their symbionts. Hence, the importance of biofertilizers in soil management practices for soil and crop sustainability needs to be highlighted in light of their multiple benefits, including augmenting nutrient availability in the rhizosphere, increasing nutrient uptake and recycling, supplementing soil water holding capacity, production of plant growth regulators, and soil reclamation. The challenges regarding the large-scale utilization of biofertilizers need to be emphasized to achieve sustainability in agricultural soils.