SIGNIFICANCE OF BIO-FERTILIZER IN CONTEXT OF INDIAN ECONOMY.

Main challenge for agriculture development is to increase agriculture production and productivity of land. The green revolution brought impressive gains in food production with the helpee of chemical fertilizer, but with insufficient concern for sustainability. Uses of chemical fertilizer not only impoverished soils, destroyed ecological balances and lead to environment damage but also adversely affected human health. Bio-fertilizers are the best supplement of chemical fertilizers. They are alternative means of accessing plant nutrients without polluting environment with sustainability. Bio-fertilizers, more commonly known as microbial inoculants, are artificially multiplied cultures of certain soil organisms that can improve soil-fertility and crop productivity by increasing the activity of certain useful bacteria and also help in providing nutrients like nitrogen via fixation and phosphorus via increasing solubiity that are naturally abundant in soil or atmosphere but unusable for plants. This paper Significance of Bio-fertiizer in Context of Indian Economy' looks the uses of bio-fertilizer in context of Indian agriculture and also looks its effect on environment, soil fertility and productivity. Paper also enlightens affect of chemical fertilizers. Bio-fertilizers are very usuful but less popular in India, this paper also highlights the causes which are responsible for this, and there are also some suggestions for making them popular. Bio-fertilizer have various benefits. Beside accessing nutrients, different bio-fertilizers also provide growth-promoting factors Oxine, Jibreline and Indole acetic acid to plants and some have been successfully facilitating composting and effective recycling of solid wastes. By controlling soil borne diseases and improving the soil health and soil properties these organisms help not only in saving, but also in effectively utilizing chemical fertilizers and result in higher yield rates. Bio-fertilizers are not only effective for that particular crop in which they used, but also increased the production of next crops. Bio-fertilizers are cheap inputs, free from the environmentally adverse implications that chemical fertilizers have. Bio-fertilizers offer a new technology to Indian agricultuee holding a promise to balance many of the shortcomings of the conventional chemical based technology. Dependence on chemical fertilizers for future agriculture growth would mean further loss in soil quality, possibilities of water contamination and unsustainable burden on the fiscal system. Bio-fertilizers are cheap and have various benefits. It is very effective for sustainable agriculture development so the government of India has been trying to promote an improved practice involving use of bio-fertilizers along with fertilizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]