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Sulfur-oxidizing Bacteria: A Novel Bioinoculant for Sulfur Nutrition and Crop Production

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Bacteria in Agrobiology: Plant Nutrient Management

Abstract

Sulfur is an essential nutrient for plant growth as sulfur-deficient conditions cause severe losses in crop yield. Sulfur nutrition has received little attention for many years, since fertilizers and atmospheric inputs have provided adequate amounts. However, recent reductions in sulfur inputs from atmospheric depositions have resulted in a negative sulfur balance in agricultural soils, making crop plants increasingly dependent on the soil to supply sulfur. Thus to alleviate this deficiency, sulfur fertilizers are invariably added to soils, usually in a reduced form, such as elemental sulfur. Yet, reduced sulfur fertilizers must be oxidized to sulfate before they become available to the plant, a process that is mediated by microorganisms. Sulfur and sulfur fertilizers and physiological role of sulfur in crop plants and interaction of sulfur with other elements along with ecological niches for isolation of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and their role in sulfur oxidation in soil and sulfur nutrition to crop plants are discussed.

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Acknowledgment

This study was supported by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India and Korea Research Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 625 104, India

    R. Anandham

  2. Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk, 361-763, Republic of Korea

    R. Anandham, P. Indira Gandhi & Tong-Min Sa

  3. Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Vriddhachalam, Tamil Nadu, 606 001, India

    P. Indira Gandhi

  4. Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Centre for Plant and Molecular Biology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 003, India

    M. SenthilKumar & R. Sridar

  5. Division of Crop Production, Central Institute for Cotton Research, Regional Station, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 003, India

    P. Nalayini

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  1. R. Anandham
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  2. P. Indira Gandhi
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Correspondence to Tong-Min Sa .

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  1. , Dept. of Botany Microbiology, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar (Uttarakhand), 249404, India

    Dinesh K. Maheshwari

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© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Anandham, R., Gandhi, P.I., SenthilKumar, M., Sridar, R., Nalayini, P., Sa, TM. (2011). Sulfur-oxidizing Bacteria: A Novel Bioinoculant for Sulfur Nutrition and Crop Production. In: Maheshwari, D. (eds) Bacteria in Agrobiology: Plant Nutrient Management. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21061-7_5

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