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Soil is an ecological system that shelters various and numerous microorganisms whose enzymes play a central role in soil metabolic activities. The studies conducted from 1996 to this day are summed up in 17 monographs and several hundreds of research papers and reports of national and international significance. A large proportion of these studies dealt with the monitoring of microbiological activity, i.e., population size and enzymatic activity as indicators of application of mineral fertilizers, cultivation practices and pesticides, presence of high contents of heavy metals, and soil disturbances such as compaction, etc. For more than two decades, studies were focused on the effects of N-fixing bacteria on the production and technological characteristics of field and vegetable crops. These theoretical and experimental studies have resulted in the development of several commercial microbiological preparations - patented biological fertilizers and technology of their production. Application of preparations containing Bradyrhizobium/Rhizobium nodular bacteria brings significant increases in grain quality and yield and plant biomass of soybeans, peas, string beans, dry beans and alfalfa. Azotobacter inoculation positively affects the production and technological characteristics of sugarbeet, corn, wheat and other agricultural crops. Microbiological preparations have good prospects because their application is ecologically and economically justified. Namely, it is necessary to further advance the scientific basis of current agriculture because the cost efficiency of mineral fertilization can be improved by combining or correcting the application of mineral fertilizers with microbiological preparations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]