As farmers face rising input costs and soil degradation, bio-fertilizers and microbial inputs have emerged as sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. These natural solutions enhance soil fertility, improve crop yields, and reduce dependency on costly chemical fertilizers. In 2025, the government and Agri-scientists are actively promoting microbial-based agriculture for long-term soil and crop health.

Bio-fertilizers are living organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae that enrich soil nutrients naturally. They help in nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization, and growth promotion.

🚜 How to Use Bio-Fertilizers on the Farm

• Seed Treatment: Soak seeds in bio-fertilizer slurry before sowing.

• Soil Application: Mix with compost or FYM and broadcast.

• Drip Irrigation: Dilute in water and apply through drip systems.

1. Rhizobium

• Symbiotic bacteria that live in root nodules of legume crops.

• Fix atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form for the plant.

• Reduces the need for chemical nitrogen fertilizers.

• Commonly used in crops like peas, beans, gram, soybean.

Azospirillum & Azotobacter

• Azospirillum: Associates with the roots of grasses and cereals (e.g., paddy, maize).

• Azotobacter: Free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria suitable for non-leguminous crops.

• Improve root development and plant growth.

• Useful in rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, and sugarcane.

Trichoderma

• Beneficial fungi that suppress soil-borne pathogens.

• Controls fungal diseases like root rot, wilt, and damping-off.

• Enhances plant resistance and promotes root growth.

• Applied to vegetables, pulses, cereals, and fruits.

Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB)

• Convert insoluble phosphorus in the soil into a form available to plants.

• Boosts root development and flowering.

• Reduces dependency on chemical phosphate fertilizers.