These 17 nutrients are divided into three classes based on the amount required such as major nutrients (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), minor nutrients such as sulfur, calcium, and magnesium, and micronutrients (nickel, zinc, molybdenum, manganese, iron, copper, chlorine, and boron). A total of 17 essential plant nutrients are mandatory for the proper development of plants (Kumar et al., 2021a). Nutrients are required by every living creature in this world. This can permit agriculturalists to enhance farming and reach a high standard of soil quality and subsequently lead to raised plant development. This review provided information on effective approaches such as biofertilizers which help in the restoration of agricultural soil thus improving crop health for sustainable agriculture. Usage of consortium has positive impact on nutrient uptake efficiency by plants, protection from pathogens, and stress conditions (Aguilar-Paredes et al., 2020). Recently, many studies reported the positive impact of beneficial soil microbes on crop productivity, but the role of consortium in agriculture is not entirely unstated. The capability of biofertilizers to form a high-level microbial diversity in soil may outcome better crop productivity for sustainable agriculture (Agri et al., 2022). It was observed that the supply of biofertilizers in apricot modifies the microbial composition and degradation process which could be efficient in nutrient cycles in soil under field conditions (Agri et al., 2021 Baldi et al., 2021). The application of biofertilizers can be a probable approach to improve soil microbial status that stimulates the natural soil microbiota therefore influencing nutrient accessibility and decomposition of organic matter (Chaudhary et al., 2021). Soil fertility is inextricably linked to the balance of microorganisms and plants (Vishwakarma et al., 2020). Plant microbial interactions are positive if they improve plant survival, nutritional status, and crop productivity and they are negative if they reduce plant growth. Soil microbes cooperate with one another and also with plant roots in numerous means providing a wide variety of essential acts which are valuable for sustaining the ecological balance in soil (Kumar et al., 2021c). Soil health and plant productivity are severely influenced by numerous interactions among plant, soil, and microorganisms (Harman et al., 2020). In the last decades, due to the increase in agricultural practices such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers it has been degraded at a universal scale and causes lower fertility due to loss in biodiversity, water retention, and disturbance in biogeochemical cycles. Soil is an important source of food production in human lifespan. The world population will reach 9 billion by 2050 in accordance with Food and Agricultural Organization as a result, there should be an enhancement in crop yield to meet the food demand. This review will focus on biofertilizers and their mechanisms of action, role in crop productivity and in biotic/abiotic stress tolerance. They provide the nutrition in adequate amount that is sufficient for healthy crop development to fulfill the demand of the increasing population worldwide, eco-friendly and economically convenient. There is a shift toward the use of biofertilizers due to all these facts, which provide nutrition through natural processes like zinc, potassium and phosphorus solubilization, nitrogen fixation, production of hormones, siderophore, various hydrolytic enzymes and protect the plant from different plant pathogens and stress conditions. There are various types of abiotic and biotic stress factors like soil salinity, drought, wind, improper temperature, heavy metals, waterlogging, and different weeds and phytopathogens like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and nematodes which attack plants, reducing crop productivity and quality. Climatic factors are responsible for enhancing abiotic stress on crops, resulting in reduced agricultural productivity. The drawbacks of using a higher quantity of chemical or synthetic fertilizers are environmental pollution, persistent changes in the soil ecology, physiochemical composition, decreasing agricultural productivity and cause several health hazards. The use of chemical fertilizers causes the plant to grow efficiently and rapidly to meet the food demand. With the increase in world population, the demography of humans is estimated to be exceeded and it has become a major challenge to provide an adequate amount of food, feed, and agricultural products majorly in developing countries.
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