Modern agriculture has relied heavily on synthetic fertilizers to meet the increasing global demand for food. The widespread use of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizers has significantly increased crop productivity over the past century and played a major role in improving global food security. However, the long term dependence on mineral fertilizers has also created significant challenges, low nutrient-use efficiency, nutrient losses through leaching a
Beneficial microbes are essential for plant growth and development, and mycorrhizal fungi are key symbiotic partners. Mycorrhizal fungi form one of the most widespread symbiotic associations in nature, with over 80% of all land plants capable of establishing this relationship (1). Mycorrhizal fungi are mainly of two types, depending on how they associate with plant roots: ectomycorrhizal fungi and endomycorrhizal fungi, also known as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Agriculture today faces the challenge of meeting rising demand for food production while adapting to unpredictable and increasingly extreme environmental conditions. Climate variability is increasing the frequency and severity of heat waves, prolonged droughts, and erratic rainfall events, making environmental stress one of the greatest challenges facing modern agriculture.
