What are biofertilizers? Why are biofertilizers preferred over chemical fertilizers?

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> [!TLDR]
> Biofertilizers are organisms that biologically enrich the nutrient status of soil, and they are favoured over chemical fertilizers because they are eco-friendly, cost-effective, and sustain soil fertility rather than harming it.
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> **What are biofertilizers?** Biofertilizers are living microorganisms that, when added to soil or seeds, colonise the rhizosphere (root zone) or the interior of the plant and promote plant growth by increasing the availability or supply of nutrients to the host plant. Important examples include:
> - **Bacteria:** *Rhizobium* (forms root nodules in leguminous plants and fixes atmospheric nitrogen symbiotically), *Azospirillum* and *Azotobacter* (free-living nitrogen fixers in soil).
> - **Fungi:** Mycorrhiza — a symbiotic association between fungi (e.g. *Glomus*) and plant roots, which improves the plant's phosphorus uptake and gives it resistance to root-borne pathogens and some soil-borne stresses.
> - **Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae):** e.g. *Nostoc*, *Anabaena*, and *Oscillatoria* — free-living or symbiotic (as in the water fern *Azolla*) nitrogen fixers commonly used in paddy fields.
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> **Why biofertilizers are preferred over chemical fertilizers:**
> 1. **Environmentally friendly:** They do not cause the water and soil pollution associated with excessive chemical fertilizer runoff (e.g. eutrophication of water bodies). …

Q.What are biofertilizers? Why are biofertilizers preferred over chemical fertilizers?

Concept understanding — Biofertilizers Biopesticides

Q.What are biofertilizers? Why are biofertilizers preferred over chemical fertilizers?

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