TITLE MARCH 2012 - Pakistan Academy of Sciences

Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences 49 (1): 67 (2012)
Copyright © Pakistan Academy of Sciences
ISSN: 0377 - 2969
Pakistan Academy of Sciences
Book Review
Biofertiliser Handbook: Research, Production, Application
By Dr. P. Bhattacharyya and Dr. HLS Tandon, pp. 190 + x. ISBN: 81-85116- 64-4 (2012).
Fertiliser Development and Consultation Organisation, New Delhi 110 048, India, www.tandontech.net
This handbook provides a comprehensive and indepth
coverage on Biofertilisers, starting from
theoretical concepts to practical applications. The
book contains 13 chapters on various aspects of
Biofertiliser Technology. The first three chapters
deal with biofertiliser classification while 4 th
chapter covers crop responses to biofertliser
inputs. In 5 th and 6 th chapters, production
technology and storage issues have been critically
discussed. Chapters 7 and 8 deal with marketing
and commercialization constraints of biofertilisers,
while chapter 9 provides an insight on practical
recommendations of different kinds of
biofertilisers. In chapter 10, the authors have
critically discussed the most important issue of
quality control of biofertilisers. Research and
development efforts on biofertilizers undertaken
by Indian as well as by some other institutions
have been elaborated in chapter 11. Overall, it is
an excellent effort to provide comprehensive
knowledge on Biofertiliser Technology for the
interested readers, including students, researchers
and commercial stakeholders.
The biofertiliser concept is not a new one; but
it never got its due position amongst agricultural
inputs because of a number of biofertiser-specific
factors, such as poor quality control, shelf life
limitation, mechanism of action, and inconsistency
in evoking plant responses to biofertilisers.
Farmers also used to show reluctance in adapting
this input in the presence of chemical fertilizers.
However, the realization regarding soil
degradation due to intensive agriculture with high
input of chemical fertilizers and unprecedented
price hike of chemical fertilizers, coupled with
their availability issue, have forced the scientists/
researchers and farmers to use biofertilisers as
supplements to chemical fertilizers. Moreover,
during the last decade, substantial advancements
have been made in the field of biofertiliser
technology with respect to quality control, shelf
life and mechanisms of action. During the last
couple of years, numerous products have been
marketed under the umbrella of biofertilisers with
different claims. So this was the right time for
writing up of such kind of a book to enhance
awareness amongst researchers/ scientists and
other stakeholders about biofertilisers. The most
unique aspect of this book is that it covers almost
every aspect of Biofertiliser Technology.
I strongly believe that this book could be a
useful asset for the academics as well as for
commercial production purposes. I recommend the
book for undergraduate and graduate students of
agriculture, particularly for the students of soil
science.
Dr. Muhammad Arshad, T.I.
Professor (Tenured)
Director, Institute of Soil & Environmental Sciences
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
P.S.: In Pakistan, this book is available with Pak Book Corporation, Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi
www.pakbook.com