R.P. Gupta: Coordinator Research: College of Basic Science and Humanities and Professor, Department of Microbiology, BIS Institute of Science of Technology, Gagra (Moga), Punjab: Anu Kalia: Scientist, Department of Microbiology, Shammi Kapoor: Mycologist, Department of Microbiology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana - 141 004

                  Developing countries as the nations of Indian subcontinent are experiencing big-bangs regarding their economic, agricultural and industrial development. The sole aim of present mechanized and advanced agricultural practices is to produce enhanced grain yield to satiate the hunger of burgeoning population. Thus the present scenario demands the use of chemical fertilizers and other agrochemicals. However the production cost of these chemical products is to high as it increases pressure on the fossils fuel reserves of the country. Bioinoculants are the culture concoctions/live microbial isolates that are presently the most ecologically feasible and economically sound example of practical reproduction of lab experimentation for the help of modern day farmers. Broadly, bioinoculants include biofertilzers, biopesticides and organic decomposers.

                Biofertilizers are live cells of beneficial microbial isolates that provide necessary nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous etc), excrete growth promoting compounds and provide resistance to a variety of diseases that culminates to enhanced yield and production. While biopesticides are live microbial isolates or their metabolic products that eradicate/kill known insects/pests of crops. Among commercialized biopesticides Bt cotton emerged as the first brand ambassador of modern day pesticides. The third component of bioinoculants are the organic decomposers that include certain fungal species, bacterial genera and actinomycetes that hasten decomposition of organic compounds and make available nutrients held as organic matter.