Harnessing Soil Microbes to Improve Plant Phosphate Efficiency in Cropping Systems

Kafle, Arjun; Cope, Kevin R.; Raths, Rachel; Krishna Yakha, Jaya; Subramanian, Senthil; Bücking, Heike; Garcia, Kevin

doi:10.3390/agronomy9030127

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Harnessing Soil Microbes to Improve Plant Phosphate Efficiency in Cropping Systems

by

Arjun Kafle

^1,†

,

Kevin R. Cope

^2,†

,

Rachel Raths

²,

Jaya Krishna Yakha

²,

Senthil Subramanian

^2,3

,

Heike Bücking

²

and

Kevin Garcia

^1,*

¹

Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7619, USA

²

Biology and Microbiology Department, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA

³

Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These Authors contributed equally to the work.

Agronomy 2019, 9(3), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9030127

Submission received: 9 February 2019 / Revised: 1 March 2019 / Accepted: 5 March 2019 / Published: 8 March 2019

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Phosphorus Dynamics: Agronomic and Environmental Impacts)

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Abstract

Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient required for plant growth and development. It is central to many biological processes, including nucleic acid synthesis, respiration, and enzymatic activity. However, the strong adsorption of phosphorus by minerals in the soil decreases its availability to plants, thus reducing the productivity of agricultural and forestry ecosystems. This has resulted in a complete dependence on non-renewable chemical fertilizers that are environmentally damaging. Alternative strategies must be identified and implemented to help crops acquire phosphorus more sustainably. In this review, we highlight recent advances in our understanding and utilization of soil microbes to both solubilize inorganic phosphate from insoluble forms and allocate it directly to crop plants. Specifically, we focus on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, ectomycorrhizal fungi, and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria. Each of these play a major role in natural and agroecosystems, and their use as bioinoculants is an increasing trend in agricultural practices.

Keywords: arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis; ectomycorrhizal symbiosis; phosphate solubilizing bacteria; phosphate efficiency

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MDPI and ACS Style

Kafle, A.; Cope, K.R.; Raths, R.; Krishna Yakha, J.; Subramanian, S.; Bücking, H.; Garcia, K. Harnessing Soil Microbes to Improve Plant Phosphate Efficiency in Cropping Systems. Agronomy 2019, 9, 127. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9030127

AMA Style

Kafle A, Cope KR, Raths R, Krishna Yakha J, Subramanian S, Bücking H, Garcia K. Harnessing Soil Microbes to Improve Plant Phosphate Efficiency in Cropping Systems. Agronomy. 2019; 9(3):127. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9030127

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kafle, Arjun, Kevin R. Cope, Rachel Raths, Jaya Krishna Yakha, Senthil Subramanian, Heike Bücking, and Kevin Garcia. 2019. "Harnessing Soil Microbes to Improve Plant Phosphate Efficiency in Cropping Systems" Agronomy 9, no. 3: 127. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9030127

APA Style

Kafle, A., Cope, K. R., Raths, R., Krishna Yakha, J., Subramanian, S., Bücking, H., & Garcia, K. (2019). Harnessing Soil Microbes to Improve Plant Phosphate Efficiency in Cropping Systems. Agronomy, 9(3), 127. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9030127

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Harnessing Soil Microbes to Improve Plant Phosphate Efficiency in Cropping Systems

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