Rhizobia are of enormous agricultural and economic values because they
provide the major source of nitrogen input in agricultural soils. Beside nitrogen fixation,
many rhizobial strains exert plant-growth-promoting traits such as the production of
phytohormones, siderophores and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC)
deaminase as well as the solubilization of inorganic phosphate. These make rhizobia
become valuable for both legumes and non-legumes. Effective rhizobial strains have
been screened and used as inoculants for improving plant growth. The application of
rhizobia as biofertilizer ensures success in crop productivity and reduces the need for
artificial fertilizers that are expensive and cause environmental problems. Coinoculations
of rhizobia and other plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have
shown the significant increase in plant-growth promotion. Several rhizobial strains have
also been reported for their bioremediation abilities.
Keywords: Acetylene Reduction Activity (ARA), Biofertilizer, Biological
nitrogen fixation (BNF), Bioremediation, Co-inoculation, Endophyte, Inoculant,
Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), Rhizobia, Symbiotic effectiveness.
