Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR): A Potential Alternative Tool for Sustainable Agriculture

Soil is an important natural resource that nurtures living microbial communities and improves plant productivity, thus ensuring food security. The chemical fertilizers used during the last few decades though improved plant productivity so rapidly; however, it is indiscriminate use results in poor soil health and less agricultural productivity, affecting food security and human health worldwide. There is an urgent need of biological agents, such as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which may serve as better alternative to solve this problem. PGPR plays an important role to increase soil fertility, plant growth promotion, and suppression of phytopathogens for the development of eco-friendly sustainable agriculture. The present study provides a critical overview on PGPR, its mechanism and function, and significance as a potential alternative tool for sustainable agriculture. An attempt has been made to propose an eco-friendly model integrating PGPR with various sectors, such as human health, agriculture, and food industry for its effective commercialization. The study might be helpful to identify the prospects and challenges of PGPR to fully integrate them into sustainable agriculture practices.