How can we mitigate nutrient pollution of waterways with the help of Biofertilizers
or Microbial solutions?

The overuse of chemical fertilizers over the past several decades has eroded soil fertility and accelerated desertification, leading to poor crop yields and jeopardizing the health of our farms and waterways. Traditional chemical fertilizers, have led to fertilizer mismanagement. The most-widely used chemical fertilizers, such as Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (NPK), have only 20-to-40% on-farm efficiency, with the rest getting stranded in the soil in an insoluble form.

Nutrient pollution is listed among the major environmental challenges on the Environmental Protection Agency’s radar. While NPK fertilizer overuse is an oft-cited source of soil degradation, excess fertilizer run-off contaminates nearby waterways, causing algae blooms that can harm marine life and people who rely on lakes and streams.

Biofertilizers or Microbial solutions, contain microbes that are bacteria or fungi; they play a significant role in mitigating the effects of nutrient runoff from chemical fertilizers, preventing them from causing pollution in water bodies.

One of the ways in which biofertilizers can help is they improve soil health and structure, enhancing the soil's capacity to retain nutrients. By promoting the growth of beneficial microorganisms, such as mycorrhizal fungi, or beneficial bacteria, biofertilizers can enhance nutrient uptake by plants, reducing the reliance on chemical fertilizers and hence the nutrient runoff.

Nutrient Transformation: Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are a type of microorganisms that play a crucial role in the nitrogen cycle; nitrogen-fixing bacteria are responsible for converting atmospheric nitrogen into a form that can be utilized by plants, promoting their growth and productivity. These bacteria help to replenish the soil with nitrogen, an essential nutrient for plant growth. This process reduces the reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, which are energy-intensive to produce and can have detrimental effects on the waterways through nutrient run-off.

Nutrient Sequestration: Microbes can also sequester excess nutrients, effectively immobilizing them and reducing their mobility in the environment. Microorganisms present in soil aggregates can adsorb and retain nutrients, preventing their direct entry into water bodies.

Biofilm Formation: Microbes can form biofilms on the surface of soil particles or within sediment layers. These biofilms act as a protective barrier, reducing soil erosion and minimizing the transport of nutrients through runoff.

Competitive Exclusion: Introducing beneficial microbial strains to agricultural fields or other areas can establish a competitive microbial community that outcompetes harmful bacteria responsible for nutrient runoff. This can help in reducing the overall nutrient load reaching water bodies.

Bioremediation: Microbes with the ability to break down or degrade pollutants can be utilized in bioremediation processes to remove or mitigate the effects of chemical contaminants present in runoff. This can help reduce the overall pollution caused by chemical fertilizers.

By harnessing the power of microbial solutions, we can reduce the environmental impact of chemical fertilizers and protect water bodies from nutrient pollution.