Exploration of the Benefits of Biofertilizers for Attaining Food Security in Egypt’s Agriculture

Abstract

Biofertilizers and biocontrol agents have been improved for several decades as microbiological tools that can provide beneficial outcomes in the growth and health of plants. Two field experiments were performed in the Scientific Farm of the Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Minia University, Egypt during the winter of 2022/2023 using clay loam soil. Control plots were treated with the recommended rates of mineral fertilizer of NPK (100%) without inoculation, while other plots were inoculated with Egyptian isolates of effective microorganisms (EMs) (a mixture of Azotobacter chroococcum and Azospirillium brasilense) and strains of Bacillus spp.; the biofertilizers were applied to the soil through mixing with irrigation water. For mycorrhizae, Glomus mosseae and Glamus fasiculatum isolation stock cultures were combined to create the mycorrhizal inoculum. The results showed that biofertilizers with 75% NPK were the best. Biofertilizers changed the properties of soil, increased its content of beneficial microorganisms, increased the total good quality production of onion and potato and decreased the stress of chemical pesticides and mineral fertilizers on crop growth and productivity.

Keywords

• mycorrhizae
• biofertilizers
• EM
• potato
• onion
• crop production