Unveiling a Hidden Synergy: Empowering Biofertilizers for Enhanced Plant Growth With Silicon in Stressed Agriculture

Abstract

Food security is increasingly threatened by climate change and environmental pressures that hinder plant growth and development. Harnessing soil microorganisms, such as mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth-promoting bacteria, offers a promising approach to boost crop production. However, existing screening methods for these microorganisms often prove ineffective in real-world, stress-prone environments, limiting the efficacy of microbial biofertilizers. To address this challenge, this review proposes the integration of silicon—renowned for its stress-mitigating properties in plants—with biofertilizers. Silicon has been shown to work synergistically with plant growth-promoting microorganisms, enhancing plant resilience to environmental stress while improving colonization efficiency and plant-microbe interactions in stressful conditions. By combining silicon with biofertilizers to create silicon-enriched biofertilizers, this strategy has the potential to optimize microbial performance and fortify food security against global challenges. The review advocates for the co-application of silicon and microbial biofertilizers as a sustainable solution to boost plant resilience against environmental stressors, thereby contributing to agricultural sustainability.