Crop Science and Agriculture

Microbiology is a fascinating branch of biology with applications in several fi elds’ right from past, present and in future also. Th e microbes include a great diversity of living forms; the only standard feature among them being their microscopic in size. Th ese microbes are ubiquitous and are all-pervading on our planet; they are present in high abundance in the soil where they find moisture, nutrients, and temperature for their growth. Microbes make up most of the biodiversity on Earth and several of the processes which microorganisms perform are of critical importance for the cycling of nutrients, the degradation of various compounds, and the global climate. Knowledge of microbes in the environment helps mankind to develop ecosystem services and to fi nd strategies to utilize our agricultural natural resources in a long-term sustainable

manner. Th e seeds of knowledge on microbes were sown much earlier while dealing with the history of any science it is possible to recount the achievements of only a few outstanding philosophers ignoring the ever so many who have toiled to build the science brick by brick. Th e microbes have existed on this planet even before man and from time immemorial man has felt the influence of microbes especially as the caused diseases to him and on his crops and livestock. Th ere are references to plant disease in the Vedas (1500 BC), Bible (1000 BC) and in the writings of Th eophrastus (370 BC). As microbes are not seen with the unaided eye, the knowledge about them had to necessarily await the development of microscope and microbiology began when people learned to grind lenses from pieces of glass and to combine them to produce magnifi ed images. Th e extensive work on microbes have started in latter half of the nineteenth century where many of the olden civilization people were using the microbial-mediated foods like wine, curds, etc., for their consumption without knowing, later in the fi rst half of the 20th century interest on microbes has gained momentum with the application of microbes in production of antibiotics and several other industrial products like enzymes etc., Th ere are several fi elds where the microbes can be applied are biotechnology, food industry, medicine, agriculture etc.,