Farming Microbes for Sustainable Food Production

The large number and variety of microbiomes that live on and in plants are a great way to increase crop yields and adaptability in agriculture. With improvements in biological technology, microorganisms and their metabolites have become a reliable and effective tool for reducing plant stress, increasing nutrient absorption, product yield, and pest control. However, there is a big need to improve how well and reliably microbial technology works in the real world. Because of this, there is a growing interest in making the best microbial biofertilizers and biopesticides that are safe for the environment and can be used on different soils and crop species. To make “microbe-optimized plants,” crop breeding projects should take into account the positive interactions between plants and microbes. Also, microbiome engineering can be used to find possible groups of microorganisms that are best suited to help plants grow. In the end, combining crop breeding programs with microbiome engineering is the only way to greatly increase agricultural yields, get the most out of them, and solve problems with food security.