Opportunities and Challenges in the Adoption of Bio-fertilizers in Akot Tehsil of District Akola, Maharashtra
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Date
2022
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Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner – 334006
Abstract
Green revolution in India brought massive gains in agricultural
production. However, it did not translate into a model for sustainable
agricultural growth. The increase in agricultural production under green
revolution was brought mainly by the extensive use of chemical
fertilizers, pesticides etc. The effect of chemicals is usually direct and
fast. Moreover, the moderate price level and higher productivity made it
more marketable to the farmers (Savita 2007). However, excessive
dependence on chemical fertilizers with major emphasis on nitrogen
and phosphorus and excessive use of pesticides has led to fall in soil
fertility, water contamination, polluted water basins, destroyed micro-
organisms and friendly insects and making the crop more prone to
diseases and unsustainable burden on the ecosystem. It reduced the
colonization of plant roots with mycorrhizae and inhibits symbiotic
nitrogen fixation by rhizobia due to high nitrogen fertilization. Nutrients
are easily lost from soils through fixation, leaching or gas emission
leading to reduced fertilizer efficiency (Begum 2019).
Under this situation, bio-fertilizers offer great potential not only for
improving soil fertility but also solubilise insoluble soil phosphates and
produces plant growth substances in the soil for efficient use of various
resources for increasing crop production on a sustainable basis. The
bio-fertilizers are bacteria, algae and fungi and may broadly be
classified into two categories viz. Nitrogen fixing like Rhizobium,
Azotobactor, Azospirilum, Acetobacter, Blue Green Algae and Azola
and Phosphorous solubilisers/ mobilisers (PSM) and Mycorrhiza.