A meta-analysis of research shows that applying microbial inoculants greatly increases crop production

Abstract

Microbial inoculant is seen as a potential technique in sustainable agriculture systems due to the quick advancement of microbial technology. Microbial inoculants increase crop output by enhancing plant nutrient availability and reducing biotic and abiotic stressors (such as disease, salt, and drought). Large-scale adoption is hampered by the uneven field effectiveness of microbial inoculants. There is little information available on the major mechanisms behind the beneficial effects of various microbial inoculants. Therefore, in order to give direction for the creation of efficient microbiological tools from both scientific and commercial perspectives, a thorough quantitative evaluation of existing inoculants on crop performance is required. We performed a meta-analysis based on 97 peer-reviewed papers to measure the advantages of various microbial inoculants on agricultural productivity and to pinpoint the primary pathways behind increased crop yield.