Microbial inoculation of seed for improved crop performance: issues and opportunities

Abstract

There is increasing interest in the use of beneficial microorganisms as alternatives to chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilisers in agricultural production. Application of beneficial microorganisms to seeds is an efficient mechanism for placement of microbial inocula into soil where they will be well positioned to colonise seedling roots and protect against soil-borne diseases and pests. However, despite the long history of inoculation of legume seeds with Rhizobia spp. and clear laboratory demonstration of the ability of a wide range of other beneficial microorganisms to improve crop performance, there are still very few commercially available microbial seed inoculants. Seed inoculation techniques used for research purposes are often not feasible at a commercial scale and there are significant technical challenges in maintaining viable microbial inocula on seed throughout commercial seed treatment processes and storage. Further research is needed before the benefits of a wide range of environmentally sensitive potential seed inoculants can be captured for use in agriculture, ecosystem restoration and bioremediation. There is no single solution to the challenge of improving the ability of seed inoculants to establish and function consistently in the field. Development of novel formulations that maintain the viability of both inoculant and seed during storage will result from multidisciplinary research in microbial and seed physiology and adjuvant chemistry.

Influence of Rhizobacteria Inoculant Application Methods and Phosphate Fertilizer Rates on Dry Matter Accumulation, Yield of Bambara Groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc] and Soil Total Nitrogen Content in a Degraded Ultisol in Southeast Nigeria

“…However, despite the long history of inoculation of legume seeds with Rhizobia spp. and clear laboratory demonstration of the ability of a wide range of other beneficial microorganisms to improve crop performance, there are still very few commercially available microbial seed or soil inoculants [17]. Seed and soil inoculation techniques used for research purposes are often not feasible at a commercial scale and there are significant technical challenges in maintaining viable microbial inocula on seed throughout commercial seed treatment processes and storage.…”

“…Seed and soil inoculation techniques used for research purposes are often not feasible at a commercial scale and there are significant technical challenges in maintaining viable microbial inocula on seed throughout commercial seed treatment processes and storage. Further research is needed before the benefits of a wide range of environmentally sensitive potential seed or soil inoculants can be captured for use in agriculture, ecosystem restoration and bioremediation [17].…”

EVALUATION OF THE SYMBIOTIC EFFECTIVENESS OF PEA (Pisum sativum L.) GENOTYPES IN POT EXPERIMENT

“…To minimize the chemical impact on the environment (reducing application of chemical fertilizers and agents for protection against pathogens) [1,2] and the adverse effect of environmental factors (unfavorable weather conditions, impact of pathogens, etc.) [3), it is advisable to use microbilogical preparations, for example, those based on nodule bacteria or arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi that have positive influence on plants [4,5].…”

Production of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and biofilm by Azospirillum brasilense aiming at the development of liquid inoculants with high performance

“…Author(s) agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License the search for alternative biotechnological products, with an emphasis on microbial inoculants, aiming at the total or partial substitution of N-fertilizers, through innovative practices that are environmentally friendly but capable of maintaining high agronomic yields, has been a major goal of investigation (Hungria et al, 2005;Souza et al, 2015;O´Callaghan, 2016;Pereg et al, 2016;Mahanty et al, 2017).…”