Background, Results, and Prospects of Microbial Biofertilizers in Mexico

Abstract

Chemical fertilizers have been used to increase productivity in conventional agricultural systems, but their indiscriminate use directly or indirectly affects the change in the environment, soil structure and its biological balance. To overcome this problem and achieve food security, alternatives such as biofertilization are needed to mitigate these impacts and concomitantly improve yield and economic benefits for producers. The objective was the technological induction of biofertilizers in various crops and different agroecological regions of the country through training courses, validation and demonstration plots, and delivery of biofertilizer to producers. The actions were carried out throughout the country starting with the 1999 PV cycle. The microorganisms were Azospirillum brasilense, Rhizobium etli, Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens and Rhizophagus intraradices. 9,229 producers were trained and 1,882,236 ha were biofertilized with 3,370,440 doses in three agricultural cycles. It is concluded that biofertilizers, alone or in co-inoculation, demonstrated the ability to increase crop yield under various environmental and management conditions. In most crops, bacterial/fungal co-inoculation promoted greater growth and yield of the host crops. Rhizobia demonstrated effective symbiosis in promoting bean growth. Biofertilizers are an acceptable alternative in sustainable agriculture compared to systems that use agrochemicals. Research on biofertilizers has been extensive and available, demonstrating how these microorganisms can provide crops with sufficient nutrients to increase yields.