Now and in the future, meeting the global demand for healthy food for the
ever-increasing population is a crucial challenge. In the last seven decades, agricultural
practices have shifted to the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to achieve higher
yields. Despite the huge contribution of synthetic fertilizers in agronomy, their adverse
effects on the environment, natural microbial habitat, and human health cannot be
underrated. Besides, synthetic fertilizers are manufactured from non-renewable sources
such as earth mining or rock exploitation. In this context, understanding and exploiting
soil microbiota appears promising to enhance crop production without jeopardizing the
environment and human health. This chapter reviews the historical as well as current
research efforts made in identifying the interaction between soil microbes and root
exudates for crop improvement. First, microbial consortium viz. bacteria, algae, fungi,
and protozoa are briefly discussed. Then, the application of bio-stimulants followed by
genome editing of microbes for crop improvement is summarized. Finally, the
perspectives and opportunities to produce bioenergy and bio-fertilizers are analyzed.
Keywords: Biofertilizer, Crop improvement, Genetic engineering, Microbial consortium, Rhizosphere.
