siliconindia | | November 20189biological inputs under integrated nutrition management (INM) and integrated crop disease & pest management (IPM) program is the need of the hour Ag solution by following Sustainable Agriculture? Sustainable agriculture is `environmentally sound'. It preserves the quality of basic natural resources that the farms, businesses and the surrounding environment rely on, including soil, water, and air. Microbes and plants are intimate partners in virtually every life processes. Microbes helps plants by improving availability of crop nutrients, enhancing plant root growth and neutralizing toxic compounds in soil. It also helps plants in improving resistance against diseases, deterring pathogens and miti-gates abiotic stress.Bio-Ag Overview & Its Importance Agricultural biological (Ag-biological) are microbial (Bacteria, Fungi, Virus) based solutions/Agriculture in-puts that work to naturally produce healthier crops and improve yields. · Provide farmers with effective and more sustainable `low-chemical' options for their agriculture practices to produce more with less in a sustainable way.· Cost-effective tool for the farmers to safeguard high investment of seeds and other Ag chemicals.· Ag-biological can help to increase plant yields in a vari-ety of ways such as improving plant nutrient uptake, pro-moting plant growth and protecting plants from insects, weeds and diseases.Concept of Ag-BiologicalBiological Agriculture inputs include a wide range of products aimed at supporting soil fertility, biological ac-tivity, and plant growth. They include inocula (such as rhizobium) and biostimulants that promote favorable microbes and plant growth, composts, manures, and bio-chars. These inputs are often used with the broad aim of bringing-down the usage of traditional chemical fertiliz-ers and agro-chemicals, but they may at the same time also form the back-bone of organic farming systems.The term `Bio-fertilizer' refers to a formulation con-taining live microbes which helps in enhancing the soil fertility, either by fixing atmospheric nitrogen, solubili-zation of phosphorus, decomposing organic wastes or by augmenting plant growth by producing growth hormones with their biological activities.Mechanisms of Growth Promotion/Bio-Control· Phytohormones· Solubilizing of P· Nitrogen fixation· Antagonistic effects· Direct competition for `rhizosphere space'Bio-insecticides are organic formulations recommend-ed for the management of insects that feed on crops. They Increasing IPM for long-term, sustainable agriculture that achieves adequate, safe and quality food production, improves farmer livelihoods and conserves non- renewable energyDhananjay Edakhe
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