IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURAL MICROBIOLOGY

INTRODUCTION Agricultural microbiology is a branch of microbiology dealing with plant-associated microbes and plant and animal diseases. It also deals with the microbiology of soil fertility, such as microbial degradation of organic matter and soil nutrient transformations. Agricultural microbiology is a scientific discipline oriented to satisfy the request of new knowledge from the society, consumers and producers, needed for the exploitation of microbial resources in the main frame of agricultural and agro-industrial processes. In a world teeming with microorganisms, benefits and threats are continuously posed to humans, animals, plants and the environment as a whole. Threats come from microbial pathogens that perpetrate a wide range of plant and animal diseases, reducing agricultural productivity. The constant spread and evolution of agricultural pathogens provides a continually renewed source of challenges to productivity and food safety. Benefits come from the many microorganisms associated with, or introduced into, cropping systems, food and food related industries. Additionally, new vulnerabilities are generated for agriculture by global movement of agricultural products, trading policies, industrial agricultural practices, and the potential for malicious releases of pathogens.  Science and technology emerging from microbiology research can help meet these challenges to agriculture. Knowledge of microbial pathogens will lead to tools for surveillance and disease prevention. Beneficial microbes may find uses in agriculture as biofertilizers, phytostimulators, bioherbicides, biopesticides, bioremediators etc. Complex interactions among microbes and agricultural systems must be better understood to facilitate the optimal use of beneficial microorganisms and maximal control of pathogens. In this programme, attempts will be made to give an in depth knowledge pertaining to sustainable use of microorganisms as a valuable tool in agriculture
TABLE OF CONTENT IntroductionObjectives of StudyDefinition of MicrobiologyProkaryotes and eukaryotesImportance of Microbiology in AgricultureSoil MicrobiologyPlant PathologyFood MicrobiologyImportance of Soil MicrobiologyImportance of Plant PathologyImportance of Food MicrobiologyConclusionReference