Challenges, Regulations and Future Actions in Biofertilizers in the European Agriculture: From the Lab to the Field

Microorganisms have been used in agriculture for more than a century, beginning with the rhizobia inoculants and, more recently, the so-called plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). Generally, bacteria have proven to be a valid and useful biotechnology for crop production. In spite of the existing knowledge about functional aspects of the interaction between microorganisms and plants and their effects on plants growth, adoption of such products by farmers is still incipient in some regions of the world, especially in industrialised areas While in Asia and Latin America they are widespread, in Europe they are still emerging. This chapter analyses the challenges of the European sector, including: (i) avoiding inconsistences in field performance, and (ii) informing and training farmers about this technology. Emerging regulation in Europe are also examined. Last, it discusses the prospective actions to help overcome challenges while also staying within the current regulation guidelines, including: (i) searching for autochthonous strains, (ii) optimisation of the industrial production and formulation, (iii) development of techniques for precise strain identification in products, especially for non-sterile carriers, (iv) field experiments at the farmers scale, and (v) screening action mechanisms from a genetic viewpoint. This chapter reviews the scientific information about field trials from a critical standpoint.