Challenges in the Compatibility of Microbial Inoculants with Agrochemicals

Nutrient management is essential for the optimum growth and yield realization of a crop. Several synthetically fabricated agrochemicals including fertilizers and pesticides are being manufactured using nonrenewable resources for their utilization in agriculture to increase crop production and disease management. But their production not only leads to the production of greenhouse gases, which are detrimental to environmental health, but also causes an imbalance in soil nutrients and leads to impermissible levels of water pollution. In the current years, microorganisms have gained attention due to their role in improving plant environment for growth. Biofertilizers can be classified into several groups based on their function and mode of action. Though an immense amount of interest regarding eco-friendly and sustainable agriculture has surfaced emphasizing the utilization of beneficial microorganisms, the use of synthetic agrochemicals has not been decreased yet. Due to their unregulated and indiscriminate use, these agrochemicals negatively impact the soil microbial processes for short or longer periods of time. Microorganisms introduced as biofertilizers/microbial inoculants in soil regularly supplied with agrochemicals tend to have reduced number and activity leading to their poor performance. One of the major challenges in the use of microbial inoculants is the poor compatibility with the agrochemicals continuously being used in agriculture. Limited use of agrochemicals along with microbial inoculants compatible with agrochemicals will consequently be crucial for sustainable agricultural practices in the near future. In this chapter, different microbial inoculants, agrochemicals and their impact, and the compatibility of pesticides with microbial inoculants along with the challenges have been discussed.