Azotobacter Chroococcum: Utilization and Potential Use for Agricultural Crop Production: an Overview
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Int. J. Adv. Res. Biol. Sci. (2017). 4(3): 35-42 International Journal of Advanced Research in Biological Sciences ISSN: 2348-8069 www.ijarbs.com DOI: 10.22192/ijarbs Coden: IJARQG(USA) Volume 4, Issue 3 - 2017 Review Article DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22192/ijarbs.2017.04.03.004 Azotobacter chroococcum: Utilization and potential use for agricultural crop production: An overview Sellamuthu Gothandapani1,2, Soundarapandian Sekar2 and Jasdeep C Padaria1* 1Biotechnology and Climate Change Laboratory, National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology, Pusa Campus, New Delhi, India 2Department of Industrial Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India *Corresponding author: [email protected] Abstract It is important to develop integrated crop production strategies that enhance the productive ability of crops in a sustainable manner for the developing nations worldwide. Intensive farming practice of high yielding crop production is mainly dependent on chemical inputs as fertilizer, pesticide and weedicides. However, excessive use of chemical inputs has negative impact on environment in the form of soil infertility, ground water contamination, imbalance of biological ecosystem and cost inputs. Soil health is an important aspect of productive sustainable agriculture and in recent years maintaining soil quality can reduce the problems of land degradation, decreasing soil fertility through use of advanced technologies in the field of biofertilizers. Biofertilizers can produce mineral nutrients through natural processes of biological nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization and also stimulation plant growth through the synthesis of plant growth promoting substances. Thus, in recent years biofertilizers have become an important component of integrated management for enhanced crop production. This paper reviews the facts and observations regarding an important biofertilizer microorganism Azotobacter chroococcum and its potential for crop production based. Keywords: Azotobacter, Biofertilizer, Crop improvement, Sustainable agriculture. Introduction In recent years salinization, soil erosion and ground the application of biofertilizers can reduce the negative water contaminations are the most important impact of chemical fertilizers and decrease the adverse ecological concerns which affect the agricultural land environmental effects of agrochemicals. Biofertilizers causing it to become unsuitable for crop production. or bio inoculants are minute organisms which are Biofertilizer plays key role in productivity and beneficial to the growth of plants and responsible for sustainability of soil health management in terms of enhanced crop yield. The various naturally available solubilizing plant nutrients; both micro and macro free living bacteria which are very beneficial for the nutrients, and stimulating plant growth. Use of overall plant growth are collectively known as plant biofertilizer in agriculture protect the environment as growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) (Kloepper, they are eco-friendly and economical for the farmers 1994). These PGPRs are mainly involved in metabolic (Khosro and Yousef, 2012). Increasing and extending process related to nitrogen fixation, phosphate 35 Int. J. Adv. Res. Biol. Sci. (2017). 4(3): 35-42 solubilization and overall plant growth promotion. Need of Bio-Fertilizers Azotobacter sp, Azospirillum sp, blue green algae, Azolla, Rhizobium sp are few of the commonly used In recent year’s intensive farming practices have led to phosphate solubilizing microorganisms which are also high crop yield which has been achieved by extensive used as biofertilizers. Sinorhizobium mycorrhizae is use of chemical fertilizers and these chemical one of the most studied microbe with phosphate fertilizers are environmentally and economically solubilizing and other PGPR properties (Selvakumar inhibitory. Continuous use of chemical fertilizers has et al, 2009). led to the environmental pollution and contamination of the soil, pollution of water basins, and disruption of Since the advent of green revolution and high input flora-fauna of ecosystem and ultimately reduced soil agriculture practices, chemical fertilizer have become fertility (Mishra., et al., 2013). Dependence on the major source of nitrogen for crop plants (Peoples available and required chemical fertilizers for the et al., 1995). Due to public awareness of future agricultural growth will result in further environmental safety, use of biofertilizes have reduction in soil quality, acidification, ground water increased tremendously in recent years. Biological contamination and hence loss of ecological balance. nitrogen fixation plays an important role in The field of eco-friendly biofertilizers is creating maintaining of nitrogen status of the soil. Biofertilizer advancement in growing level of concern towards are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen as single environmental safety sustainable agricultural practice microbial inoculants or as consortia. Microbes that are (Debojyoti et al., 2014). Nitrogen plays important role able to fix atmospheric nitrogen are grouped in to in increasing the crop yield, crop nutrients for three broad categories as: 1) non-symbiotic bacteria, agricultural crop productivity. The long term use of 2) blue green algae and 3) symbionts (Rajendra et al., biofertilizers is not only economical and eco-friendly 1998). The genus Azotobacter, belonging to family but is also found to be increasing crop productivity Azotobacteriaceae, represents the main group of and improving soil health over chemical fertilizers. heterotrophic non-symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria Easy accessibility of biofertilizer is an added principally inhabiting neutral or alkaline soils (Sartaj advantage especially for small and marginal farmers et al., 2013). The non-symbiotic free living for whom the cost of chemical fertilizer is becoming Azotobacter is largely associated with nitrogen unaffordable (Mishra et al., 2013). fixation in plant rhizosphere (Lakshminarayana 2000). It is also involved in various other metabolic pathways Characteristic features of Azotobacter chroococcum of plant growth promotion (Gonzalez-Lopez et al. The genus Azotobacter, belonging to the family 1986), antagonistic activity against plant pathogens in Azotobacteriaceae is an aerobic, heterotrophic, non- soil (Verma et al. 2001) and activation of potential symbiotic biological nitrogen fixing microbe. It has rhizospheric bio-inoculants for enhancement of plant been found that some Azotobacter species exist in yield (Lakshminarayana et al. 2000). Vessey (2003) association with some crops especially cereals reported Azotobacter sp. and Azospirillum sp. are the (Martyniuk et al., 2003). Azotobacter sp. are generally most commonly used biofertilizers in different present in natural and alkaline soil with its most agricultural crops either as combined or as single commonly occurring species found in arable soils. The inoculation. The estimated contribution of these free- genus Azotobacter comprises of different species: living nitrogen fixing bacteria to the nitrogen input of A.chroococcum, A. vinelandii, A. beijerinckii, soil ranges from 0–60 kg/ha per year. Studies have A. paspali, A. armeniacus, A.nigricans and A. shown that inoculation of maize crop with Azotobacter salinestri. The free-living, gram-negative, motile and significantly increased its plant height, grain weight mesophilic Azotobacter spp. are capable of fixing on and grain yield. Inoculation of Azotobacter increased an average 20 kg N/ha/per year (Rawia et al., 2009). grain yield in maize upto 35% over the non inoculated Azotobacter spp. was commonly found as small, treatment (Bandhu and Parbati, 2013). Therefore, in medium or large rod shaped cells. The colonies the development of sustainable agricultural use of developed on Jensen’s agar medium were raised, Azotobacter as biofertilizer has great importance in spherical flat and with irregular margins. The colony improved of nutrient profile of plant and soil and size varied from ≥2 mm to ≥5 mm in 7days. The increased crop yield accompanied by protection of colony characters such as colony-margin, size, colour environmental pollution and soil contamination (Saini and consistency also differed among the different et al., 2004; Namvar et al., 2012; Rana et al., 2012). species of Azotobacter spp. (Tejera, et al. 2005; 36 Int. J. Adv. Res. Biol. Sci. (2017). 4(3): 35-42 Ahmad, et al. 2008). The agronomic importance of microbes growth pattern, optimum conditions for Azotobacter spps is due to its the capability of microbes growth, interactive behaviour with other biological nitrogen fixation, synthesis of antibiotics, microbes need to be screened before selecting a plant growth hormones (Pandey et al., 1998), vitamins, microbe for developing it as biofertilizer, . Important exopolysaccharides and pigment (Jimenez et al., 2011) characteristics like pH, shelf life of the microbe, its and also its antifungal activity (Sudhir et al., 1983). rate of multiplication, level of microbial A.chrococcum is a common nitrogen fixing microbe contamination, viable count under field conditions and found in the rhizosphere of agricultural crops. The first carrier size (Table-1) are very important aspects that representative of the genus A. chroococcum, was need to be worked out before proceeding with discovered and described in 1901 by the Dutch biofertilizer development. For high effectiveness of microbiologist and botanist Martinus Beijerinck