Original title: Microbial Phosphorus Solubilization and Its Potential for Use in Sustainable Agriculture
Plants need phosphorus, but some phosphorus in soil is locked in forms they cannot use. Certain soil microbes can release it, making it available to plants. This review describes those microbes, how they free phosphorus, and what affects whether they work well. The authors see them as potential biofertilizers, though they have not yet replaced chemical fertilizers in commercial farming.
Imagine a pantry full of food sealed in jars. You have plenty to eat, but the lids are too tight to open. Some helpful people know how to open the jars and put the food within reach. In this paper, the pantry is the soil, the sealed food is phosphorus plants cannot use, and the helpful people are microbes that release it.
Farmers need phosphorus to grow crops, but excess chemical fertilizer can pollute waterways and harm soil. Microbes that make soil phosphorus available to plants could help support crop production with less reliance on conventional fertilizer.
The abstract describes a review, not a specific field trial, and gives no measured crop-yield, pollution, or fertilizer-reduction results. It does not establish how reliably these microbes work across crops or regions, or what conditions ensure successful commercial use. It notes that they have not yet replaced conventional fertilizers in commercial agriculture.
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Microbial Phosphorus Solubilization and Its Potential for Use in Sustainable Agriculture — Elizabeth Temitope Alori, Bernard R. Glick, Olubukola Oluranti Babalola — Frontiers in Microbiology — doi:10.3389/fmicb.2017.00971
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.