scholarly journals Role of Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) in Sustainable Agriculture: A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rittwika Mukherjee ◽  
Supatra Sen
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Sustainable Agriculture ◽  
Biological Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
N Fertilization ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Biological Nitrogen

Agriculture has an enormous environmental footprint. One of the best ways to mitigate climate change is to create balanced food systems based on sustainable agriculture. To reduce the chemical dependence scientists are engineering crop plants for N 2 fixation and they are focused on the biological process BNF (Biological Nitrogen Fixation) for the needs of N2 for crop plant soils. N2 fixed by the BNF process reduces the production cost, Green House gas (GHG) emissions, pollution of surface and ground water. Several management practices are there which influence BNF process in agricultural system. They are N- fertilization species genotype and cultivar and seeding ratios. Better management practices can help to improve N2 fixation. This review highlights the agro-economic importance of BNF and shows it as a cost effective, non- polluting way to improve the soil fertility and crop production.

Biological nitrogen fixation for sustainable agriculture: A perspective

1992 ◽  
Vol 141 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. B. Bohlool ◽  
J. K. Ladha ◽  
D. P. Garrity ◽  
T. George
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Sustainable Agriculture ◽  
Biological Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Biological Nitrogen

scholarly journals Biological Nitrogen Fixation in the Context of Global Change

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 486-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Olivares ◽  
Eulogio J. Bedmar ◽  
Juan Sanjuán
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Biological Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
N Fertilization ◽  
Agricultural Crops ◽  
Nitrogen Fixing ◽  
Sustainable Technologies ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Biological Nitrogen

The intensive application of fertilizers during agricultural practices has led to an unprecedented perturbation of the nitrogen cycle, illustrated by the growing accumulation of nitrates in soils and waters and of nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere. Besides increasing use efficiency of current N fertilizers, priority should be given to value the process of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) through more sustainable technologies that reduce the undesired effects of chemical N fertilization of agricultural crops. Wider legume adoption, supported by coordinated legume breeding and inoculation programs are approaches at hand. Also available are biofertilizers based on microbes that help to reduce the needs of N fertilization in important crops like cereals. Engineering the capacity to fix nitrogen in cereals, either by themselves or in symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing microbes, are attractive future options that, nevertheless, require more intensive and internationally coordinated research efforts. Although nitrogen-fixing plants may be less productive, at some point, agriculture must significantly reduce the use of warming (chemically synthesized) N and give priority to BNF if it is to sustain both food production and environmental health for a continuously growing human population.

scholarly journals Molecular Biology in the Improvement of Biological Nitrogen Fixation by Rhizobia and Extending the Scope to Cereals

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Ravinder K. Goyal ◽  
Maria Augusta Schmidt ◽  
Michael F. Hynes
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Biological Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Recombinant Dna ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Recombinant Dna Technology ◽  
Total N ◽  
Symbiotic Associations ◽  
Biological Nitrogen

The contribution of biological nitrogen fixation to the total N requirement of food and feed crops diminished in importance with the advent of synthetic N fertilizers, which fueled the “green revolution”. Despite being environmentally unfriendly, the synthetic versions gained prominence primarily due to their low cost, and the fact that most important staple crops never evolved symbiotic associations with bacteria. In the recent past, advances in our knowledge of symbiosis and nitrogen fixation and the development and application of recombinant DNA technology have created opportunities that could help increase the share of symbiotically-driven nitrogen in global consumption. With the availability of molecular biology tools, rapid improvements in symbiotic characteristics of rhizobial strains became possible. Further, the technology allowed probing the possibility of establishing a symbiotic dialogue between rhizobia and cereals. Because the evolutionary process did not forge a symbiotic relationship with the latter, the potential of molecular manipulations has been tested to incorporate a functional mechanism of nitrogen reduction independent of microbes. In this review, we discuss various strategies applied to improve rhizobial strains for higher nitrogen fixation efficiency, more competitiveness and enhanced fitness under unfavorable environments. The challenges and progress made towards nitrogen self-sufficiency of cereals are also reviewed. An approach to integrate the genetically modified elite rhizobia strains in crop production systems is highlighted.

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