Technological University of the Philippines
Microorganisms in Soil that Helps Agricultural Products and Root Crops Grow
Esguerra, Sandra Leslie M.
BSES 3B
Assoc. Prof. Erwin Elazegui
Sy: 2017-2018
Chapter 1
Introduction
The whole world currently faces huge challenges to achieve agricultural sustainability while ensuring food security and environmental health. The Philippines is primarily an agricultural country. Most citizens live in rural areas and support themselves through agriculture. The country's agriculture sector is made up of 4 sub-sectors: farming, fisheries, livestock, and forestry. The country's main agricultural crops are rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane, bananas, pineapple, coffee, mangoes, tobacco, and abaca. Therefore, agriculture has a big impact in Filipinos’ life. So studies to have a good and increase in production are needed. So, is there a microbe…show more content… Many plants develop a beneficial relationship with fungi that increases the contact of roots with the soil. Fungi infect the roots and send out root-like structures called hyphae. The hyphae of these mycorrhizal fungi take up water and nutrients that can then feed the plant. The hyphae are very thin, about 1/60 the diameter of a plant root, and are able to exploit the water and nutrients in small spaces in the soil that might be inaccessible to roots. This is especially important for phosphorus nutrition of plants in low-phosphorus soils. The hyphae help the plant absorb water and nutrients, and in return the fungi receive energy in the form of sugars, which the plant produces in its leaves and sends down to the roots. This symbiotic interdependency between fungi and roots is called a mycorrhizal relationship. All things considered, it’s a pretty good deal for both the plant and the fungus. The hyphae of these fungi help develop and stabilize larger soil aggregates by secreting a sticky gel that glues mineral and organic particles