LATE BLOOMER. Biofertilizers present return on funding solely after sustained use over a number of seasons
| Photo Credit:
Pongsak Sapakdee
Today, agriculture faces strain from soil degradation and the local weather disaster. Our oceans can function a big laboratory for options to assist crops stand up to such stresses. Marine biotechnology, which has contributed considerably to the pharmaceutical sector, has the potential to disrupt the fertilizer and pesticide markets.
Prof Radhakrishnan Manikkam of the Centre for Drug Discovery and Development at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology says marine microbes maintain promise in agricultural biotechnology. He has labored on isolating actinobacteria — the organisms liable for quite a few antibiotics — from environments that haven’t been totally explored, such because the deep sea. Unlike terrestrial microbes, the marine variants are tailored to outlive extremely saline environments, strain and temperature, making them preferrred catalysts for plant progress and stress resilience in crops.
In a paper titled ‘Plant growth promoting properties of marine bacteria, actinobacteria and fungi’, revealed below the compilation ‘Marine microbiome and microbial bioprospecting’, Manikkam refers to improvements reminiscent of artificial microbial communities, the place suitable microbes are “rationally assembled, as opposed to using just one strain — for example, one strain promotes plant growth, another helps fight pathogens, while yet another is tailored to counter environmental pollution”.
In a dialog with businessline, Manikkam says utilizing microbes extracted from nature helps protect land fertility, not like chemical fertilizers that hurt the soil.
He factors out that microbes are used as fertilizers in Asian international locations reminiscent of Thailand, China and Vietnam, the place microbe-assisted natural farming programs are practised for high-value crops like durian and dates.
Marine microorganisms help agriculture by a number of direct and oblique mechanisms.
Marine microorganisms that promote plant progress act as pure biofertilizers. For occasion, marine micro organism like Bacillus subtilis convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, a kind that crops can simply soak up. The microbes additionally make vitamins out there to crops by secreting natural acids that solubilise insoluble phosphates. They improve the provision of calcium and magnesium within the soil. Moreover, sea microbes produce phytohormones, which help in root growth and shoot elongation.
Key to soil well being
They protect crops not directly by producing siderophores, which make iron unavailable to pathogens, and secreting enzymes that degrade the cell wall of fungal pests. Research exhibits that sure strains derived from oceans, reminiscent of Pseudomonas fluorescens, can assist suppress ailments reminiscent of wheat sheath blight. Compared to fast-acting chemical compounds, sea microbes work ‘slow but steady’ and assist restore long-term soil well being.
M Gomathy, an Associate Professor on the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), says lack of knowledge and hesitancy of end-users are main hurdles within the progress of bio-innovation. At a world convention on ‘Microbial biotechnology for sustainable development in environment and agriculture’ organised not too long ago by Sathyabama Institute, Gomathy stated biofertilizers enhance soil organic exercise and nutrient-use effectivity over time. On the opposite hand, long-term intensive chemical use “may reduce soil organic carbon and microbial diversity”.
Also, biofertilizers take longer to indicate return on funding, requiring sustained use over a number of seasons. She added that natural inputs launch vitamins steadily by microbial exercise, enhancing nutrient retention and supporting soil microorganisms. The long-term financial incentive is important, she identified. When used persistently, biofertilizers can scale back chemical fertilizer requirement by 15-30 per cent in a number of cropping programs. Further, natural licensed merchandise typically fetch premium costs.
Despite the benefits, large-scale adoption stays a problem. Though biofertilizers are supported below varied authorities schemes that present subsidies to small and medium farmers, utilization is usually pushed by ‘progressive and large farmers’ or village heads whose success with bio-agents, reminiscent of elevated crop yields or latex yields in rubber estates, creates a ripple impact in the neighborhood.
Gomathy highlighted her staff’s contribution in creating a yeast-based microbial consortium to reinforce rice yield, which is being readied for expertise launch by way of TNAU. “Ongoing work includes a high-density liquid arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) inoculum developed via root organ culture, which achieved more than 2 lakh propagules per ml,” she stated.
The fungi improve nutrient uptake, enhance water-use effectivity and stress tolerance, and strengthen general plant resilience.
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Published on February 23, 2026