70
and helps in controlling plant diseases in an eco-friendly biological way (Saxena
et al. 2013; Benbi 2018; Sarfraz et al. 2019; van Bruggen et al. 2019).
Before independence, India was like a ship-to-mouth country as it was a massive
importer of food. With the efforts of agricultural scientists during the Green
Revolution, India was able to transform itself from a begging bowl to a bread basket
(Yadugiri 2011). This wide gap filled by high-yielding and more nutrient- demanding
cultivars of staple and other crops has gradually transformed the soil into nutrient
deficient. Application of agrochemicals has depleted the beneficial soil microflora
also. Recognizing this fact, nowadays, stress is being laid on biological inoculants
to replenish the soil health.
5.2 Metal Contamination
Due to anthropogenic activities, natural resources are depleted at a faster rate. A
large number of metals are continuously being added to the environment causing
water, air, and soil pollution. These metals find their way in the food chain through
biomagnifications and exert toxic effects at successive trophic levels in plants, animals, and human beings (Jagtap and Bapat 2015). Globally, more than 20 million
hectares of land mass is adulterated by different heavy metals (Liu et al. 2018).
5.3 Biological Inoculants
New successful, reliable, eco-friendly, cost-effective technologies are necessary to
recover the contaminated and mineral-deficient soils caused due to intensive farming and natural or anthropogenic sources. There is an urgent need to put a restriction
on excessive use of agrochemicals in agriculture system without compromising the
agricultural productivity. Many workers have reported the application of different
biological inoculants for growth promotion and disease management in crops
(Saxena et al. 2013; Munir et al. 2019; Raklami et al. 2019). But biological inoculants have not been widely accepted by farming community so far. The enhancement in growth and productivity of crop plants by biological inoculants depends on
many biotic and abiotic factors, e.g., soil type and characteristics (texture, pH, moisture content, temperature, porosity, etc.) climatic conditions, crop type, genotype
and nature of biological inoculants, inoculation technology (like root-dip inoculation, seed treatment with or without surfactant, challenge inoculation), addition of
supplementary or co-inoculants or chemical additives, nutrient mobilization, interaction of crop plants with biological inoculants, and agricultural practices (Zhang
et al. 2000; Bashan et al. 2014; Pii et al. 2016; Sarfraz et al. 2019). There are several
reports indicating application of biological inoculants for phytoremediation of contaminated and degraded soil (Sipahutar et al. 2018; Wani and Khan 2013; Khanna
et al. 2019). The biological inoculants regulate hormonal and nutritional balance,
induce pathogen resistance, and solubilize nutrients for easy uptake by plants.
A. Saxena
and helps in controlling plant diseases in an eco-friendly biological way (Saxena
et al. 2013; Benbi 2018; Sarfraz et al. 2019; van Bruggen et al. 2019).
Before independence, India was like a ship-to-mouth country as it was a massive
importer of food. With the efforts of agricultural scientists during the Green
Revolution, India was able to transform itself from a begging bowl to a bread basket
(Yadugiri 2011). This wide gap filled by high-yielding and more nutrient- demanding
cultivars of staple and other crops has gradually transformed the soil into nutrient
deficient. Application of agrochemicals has depleted the beneficial soil microflora
also. Recognizing this fact, nowadays, stress is being laid on biological inoculants
to replenish the soil health.
5.2 Metal Contamination
Due to anthropogenic activities, natural resources are depleted at a faster rate. A
large number of metals are continuously being added to the environment causing
water, air, and soil pollution. These metals find their way in the food chain through
biomagnifications and exert toxic effects at successive trophic levels in plants, animals, and human beings (Jagtap and Bapat 2015). Globally, more than 20 million
hectares of land mass is adulterated by different heavy metals (Liu et al. 2018).
5.3 Biological Inoculants
New successful, reliable, eco-friendly, cost-effective technologies are necessary to
recover the contaminated and mineral-deficient soils caused due to intensive farming and natural or anthropogenic sources. There is an urgent need to put a restriction
on excessive use of agrochemicals in agriculture system without compromising the
agricultural productivity. Many workers have reported the application of different
biological inoculants for growth promotion and disease management in crops
(Saxena et al. 2013; Munir et al. 2019; Raklami et al. 2019). But biological inoculants have not been widely accepted by farming community so far. The enhancement in growth and productivity of crop plants by biological inoculants depends on
many biotic and abiotic factors, e.g., soil type and characteristics (texture, pH, moisture content, temperature, porosity, etc.) climatic conditions, crop type, genotype
and nature of biological inoculants, inoculation technology (like root-dip inoculation, seed treatment with or without surfactant, challenge inoculation), addition of
supplementary or co-inoculants or chemical additives, nutrient mobilization, interaction of crop plants with biological inoculants, and agricultural practices (Zhang
et al. 2000; Bashan et al. 2014; Pii et al. 2016; Sarfraz et al. 2019). There are several
reports indicating application of biological inoculants for phytoremediation of contaminated and degraded soil (Sipahutar et al. 2018; Wani and Khan 2013; Khanna
et al. 2019). The biological inoculants regulate hormonal and nutritional balance,
induce pathogen resistance, and solubilize nutrients for easy uptake by plants.
A. Saxena