Plants need essential nutrients to achieve their full growth. bio fertilizer is a great fertilizer that provides necessary macro and micronutrients to plants. It has several advantages such as it is eco-friendly, a soil activator, easy to produce, and ensures optimum utilization of organic matter in the soil.
Plants rely on essential macro- and micronutrients for survival. It helps them get proper nourishment and achieve optimum growth. However, a number of factors have resulted in the loss of these nutrients from the soil, which is the source of nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus for plants. To solve this issue, farmers use fertilizers in the soil or plant roots. Several growth promoters are available in the market that are known to increase the nutritional efficiency of the soil bed.
Fertilizers are nutrient supplements that are used by farmers in agricultural practices to provide necessary nutrients to plants. These fertilizers can be organic or synthetic. Chemical fertilizers are synthetic fertilizers, and biofertilizers are organic fertilizers available on the market.
Over the years, the demand for biofertilizers has been picking up in the Indian agricultural market due to a variety of reasons. But first, let’s understand the meaning of biofertilizers.
What is a Biofertilizer?
Biofertilizers are organic materials that contain several microorganisms. This fertilizer is the source of macronutrients required by the plant to perform several cell functions. It is applicable on the soil bed, the seed, or directly on the plant to increase the nutritional quotient of the plant. This fertilizer is highly beneficial for plants as it is a growth promoter and helps build healthy plant tissue. Biofertilizers increase the solubility of nutrients in the soil, which helps plants absorb these nutrients effectively.
Since this fertilizer is made naturally, it is widely used in sustainable farming. Furthermore, the use of biofertilizers is becoming more common in commercial farming practices. Since it is not harmful to the soil, farmers are inclined to use this fertilizer in modern farming.
Types of Biofertilizers
Nitrogen Fixing Biofertilizers
The main function of nitrogen-fixing fertilizer is to convert molecular nitrogen into ammonia. The fertilizer helps increase the availability of atmospheric nitrogen in the soil that is used by plants. Nitrogen is one of the main nutrients required by plants to perform several functions such as photosynthesis, root systems, and plant growth.
Phosphate Biofertilizers
Phosphate biofertilizers solubilize insoluble phosphate from organic and inorganic sources to fix the amount of phosphate in the soil. It is one of the main macronutrients that is directly linked with cell division, tissue development, and the growth of plant roots.
Effective Benefits of Biofertilizers
- Biofertilizers are eco-friendly.
- Farmers can practice sustainable farming using bio-fertilizers.
- Optimal utilization of organic and natural resources can be achieved using biofertilizers.
- Biofertilizers are known to restore soil fertility.
- The use of bio-fertilizer reduces crop failure.
Biofertilizers can be applied as a coating to the plant’s roots, as a seed treatment, or as a soil treatment. They are excellent growth stimulators and help increase the organic matter of the soil. There are several biofertilizers available on the market. You can select the best in terms of quality and authenticity.