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Nutrient Cycling: Potassium Solubilization by Microorganisms and Improvement of Crop Growth

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Geomicrobiology and Biogeochemistry

Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 39))

Abstract

Potassium is the major essential macronutrient for growth and development of plants. The availability of potassium (K) to crop plants in soil is generally low since nearly 90–98 % of total potassium in soil is in the unavailable mineral forms. Therefore, balanced fertilization involving application of nitrogenous, phosphatic (P), and potassium fertilizers is required to provide optimal nutrition for crops. However, fixation of added nutrients/fertilizers in soil reduces the efficiency of applied phosphorus and potassium fertilizers and a large quantity of added fertilizers become unavailable to plants. In addition, chemical fertilizers cause environmental pollution. Rhizosphere microorganisms play an important role in solubilization of bound form of soil minerals and enhance the availability of plant nutrients in the soil. Many plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, including N2-fixing and phosphate/potassium-solubilizing bacteria are being used as biofertilizers to minimize hazards caused by use of chemical fertilizers. However, very little information is available on K-solubilizing microorganisms and their impact on growth and development of crop plants. Recently, K-solubilizing bacteria/fungi have been isolated from rhizosphere soil samples and the efficiency of various bacterial strains to solubilize insoluble potassium mineral has been studied. Optimization of conditions for efficient K solubilization and mechanisms involved in potassium solubilization are being explored. Efficient K solubilizing bacteria were found to enhance nutrient uptake leading to stimulation of plant growth under green house and field conditions. Thus, K solubilizing bacteria could be applied as potential biofertilizers along with application of rock K materials to provide a continuous supply of available potassium for increasing crop yield.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, 125004, Haryana, India

    Satyavir S. Sindhu, Priyanka Parmar & Manisha Phour

Authors
  1. Satyavir S. Sindhu
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  2. Priyanka Parmar
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  3. Manisha Phour
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Correspondence to Satyavir S. Sindhu .

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  1. Department of Chemistry & Biology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Nagina Parmar

  2. Lystek International Inc., Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

    Ajay Singh

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Sindhu, S.S., Parmar, P., Phour, M. (2014). Nutrient Cycling: Potassium Solubilization by Microorganisms and Improvement of Crop Growth. In: Parmar, N., Singh, A. (eds) Geomicrobiology and Biogeochemistry. Soil Biology, vol 39. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41837-2_10

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