Connecting microbial capabilities with the soil and plant health: Options for agricultural sustainability

Microorganisms are the key players in every agro-ecosystem. They are the natural inhabitants of all the soil and plant systems, in which they represent dominant presence in terms of their vast diversity and multipronged functional capabilities. Multifarious physical, chemical and biological factors usually represent good soil fertility status as a guaranty of sustainable agro-ecology, plant health and crop productivity. Since healthy soils are largely characterized by their profound biological and chemical behavior, microbial functionalities related to nutrient fixation, recycling, acquisition, sequestration, solubilization, mobilization, decomposition, degradation and remediation may act as definitive indicators. Functional capabilities of microbial communities associated with soils and plant parts have been critically identified and characterized in the past few decades. Application of individual microbes or their consortia in many crops established their role in finding out a supplement and/or substitute in the existing agricultural practices which are largely dependent on synthetic chemical inputs in present time. We are presenting here a detailed account of microbial community functions, their relation with the soil and plant health and the potential indicative roles they play to establish a sustainable soil ecological environment for supporting crop growth, development and yield in long term.