𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:
The constant increase of the global population poses a threat to the ecosystems, leading to climate change, soil erosion, and biodiversity loss due to high inputs of agrochemicals to maintain high crop yields. Soil fertility is closely related to the healthy microbial populations present there, being considered of utmost importance as ecological indicators to evaluate soil health. Nevertheless, the large use of fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides leads to loss of biodiversity, resulting in low-quality crops and low-quality final food products.
For so, the use of naturally occurring processes, such as those provided by microorganisms associated with soil and plants, is a promising strategy to reduce farmers’ dependence on agrochemicals. The introduction of the concept of biofertilizer has helped to resolve this issue, allowing the soil to heal and produce crops of higher quality. Biofertilizers are seen as a promising tool in agricultural systems since they can be used as a renewable and eco-friendly source of plant nutrients, being an important component of the Integrated Plant Nutrient System (IPNS).
Biofertilizers are constituted by living microorganisms (such as mycorrhizal fungi, blue-green algae, and bacteria) with beneficial properties towards plants’ nutrition and growth since they help to increase nutrients supply, fix nitrogen, solubilize potassium and phosphorus, excrete phytohormones, produce substances that suppressing phytopathogens, guard plants from abiotic and biotic stresses, and detoxify belowground pollutants. Besides all the advantages, biofertilizers still have a long road to go till replacing conventional chemical fertilizers in commercial agriculture. In the near future, discussion and research on biofertilizers development is necessary and its biosafety guidelines needs to be clarified. Nevertheless, the application of biological fertilizers is thought to be a key element in maintaining high soil fertility and high crop productivity, being considered indispensable to achieve sustainability within a farm.
In this fourth webinar integrated into the 3rd Cycle “Healthy, living and resilient soils”, we talked about the concept of biofertilizers, highlight the latest technological advances and the challenges still to be overcome in this research area.
