Mycorrhiza and Bacteria-Enriched Microbiomes

Mycorrhizae are beneficial soil fungi that establish a symbiotic association with host plant roots. In nature, they also associate with bacteria during different stages of their life cycle. Cross-kingdom associations formed between plant roots and mycorrhizae have been proficient in positively influencing plant growth as these associations are evolutionarily selected and maintained in nature, and are hence more powerful than introduced, non-native, combinations of biofertilizer bacterial strains. The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) in vitro Mycorrhiza technology has shown 30–50 per cent reduction in usage of chemical fertilizers in crops such as wheat and maize. The tiny mycorrhizae spores do not simply exist in soil, but they tirelessly work even in adverse environmental conditions to support plant growth and provide protection to their hosts from pathogens and parasites. Mycorrhizal microbiome contributes significantly to plant nutrition, particularly to the macronutrient, phosphorus uptake. They contribute to the selective absorption of immobile (P, Zn, and Cu) and mobile (S, Ca, K, Fe, Mn, Cl, Br, and N) elements to plants and water uptake through the network between mycorrhiza and its associated bacteria.