Asian Journal of Research and Review in Agriculture

Agriculture is the only way of sustaining human life on earth which has taken many shapes throughout the stages of human civilization. Cultivation of crops on land has been better with the support of nutrients from the soil itself as well as the fertilizers kept manually. The trend of using chemical fertilizers overshadowed the application of compost and farm yard manures since they had quite good ability to nourish the plants in no time. But, the damages, both in the environment and human health, caused by chemicals made farmers look for the next best alternative. Fortunately, scientists come up with the idea of biofertilizers that become advantageous for farming communities. Biofertilizers are made of different kinds of micro-organisms beneficial to the soil and plants. They not only solve the environmental and human health deterioration but also give adequate supply of nutrients to the plants ensuring their proper growth and development. Since organic farming is being widely accepted and practiced around the world, bio-fertilizers have a good potential to replace conventional manures like compost and farm yard manure. These microorganism-based fertilizers are capable of maintaining long-term soil fertility by ultimately aiding for sustainability in agriculture. This review paper discusses some popular bio-fertilizers including Rhizobium, Azospirillum, Azotobacter, Agrobacterium and Anabaena.