Shivangi Awasthi1, Rajeeva Gaur1*, Shikha2*
1Department of Microbiology, Dr. RML Avadh University, Ayodhya-224001, Uttar Pradesh, India.
2Department of Environmental Science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow-226025, Uttar Pradesh, India.
ARTICLE INFOR: Received: 24 November 2022; Revised: 13 December 2022; Accepted: 15 December 2022
CORRESPONDING AUTHORS: Email: dr_shikha2003@yahoo.co.in (Shikha), rajeevagaur@rediffmail.com (R. Gaur)
J. Appl. Sci. Innov. Technol. 1(2), 60-69 (2022)
Abstract
Usually, chemical fertilizer is used to increase soil nitrogen content. Intensive and high-dose utilization of N2 fertilizers can cause ammonia volatilization and nitrate accumulation in the soil after prolonged application. An integrated nutrient management system, which integrates bacterial inoculants, plays a crucial role in soil health and productivity in sustainable agriculture. Biological nitrogen fertilizers containing Azotobacter can be used to increase soil fertility by increasing nutrient availability, providing some metabolites to plants during growth, and minimizing fertilizer doses by replacing or adding to fertilizers. The purpose of this literature review paper is to discuss the utility of Azotobacter in agriculture, and the perspective of Azotobacter to increase yield and substitute chemical fertilizer in food crop production. This review highlighted the potential of Azotobacter sp. as an efficient biofertilizer with testified efficacy to enhance plant nutrition and soil fertility. This bacteria’s use in soil reclamation has proven beneficial, indicating that it may be a potential tool for turning barren land into rich soil. In order to effectively target agricultural challenges (such as the nutrient deficit, and biotic/ abiotic stresses), Azotobacter sp. still needs to be carefully exploited. This requires attention to a number of factors, including their multi-trophic interactions, synergies, abundance distribution, biogeography, and biological functions.
Keywords: PGPRs, Biofertilizers, Diazotrophs, Nitrogen Fixation, Consortia
Scope: Environmental Microbiology
