Abstract:
Nutrient deficiency, chemical fertilizer application and soil deterioration is a well-known
cyclic occurrence associated with agriculture in which successive cycles lead to more and
more deterioration of soil. With the advancement of technology, sustainable and
environmentally friendly solutions are sought to address such problems. Development of
biofertilizers to supplement soil with nutrients eases the demand on chemical fertilizers
and its negative impacts on the environment. Phosphorus (P) is one of the major plant
nutrients. Its deficiency limits the plant growth and development in almost all agricultural
soils. Due its high reactivity, applied P readily combines with soil minerals forming
insoluble phosphates, lowering its availability to plants. As such, development of an
economical and environmentally friendly alternative for successful soil P management is a
major concern in crop production and phosphate solubilizing microorganisms (PSM)
attracted attention in this regard (Rodriguez and Fraga, 1999).
Export agricultural crops (EAC) are important contributors to the Gross National Product.
Although Eppawala rock phosphate (ERP) is applied to EACs concerning the perennial nature
of the plant, it has been shown that phosphate availability of ERP for EACs can be increased
using PSMs (Mala et al, 2010). Hence, the main objective of this study is to develop a
phosphate biofertilizer for EACs using suitable phosphate solubilizing microorganisms.
