Agrobiology is defined by Merriam-Webster as a field that studies how plant or crop nutrition, growth, and yield or production relate to

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

management (Merriam-Webster). Agrobiology is an interdisciplinary field of study that provides a comprehensive understanding of the complex relationships between crops, soils, and the environment. Agrobiology consists of several science-based disciplines including, plant biology and nutrition,

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

, and

soil science Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, soil classification, classification and Soil survey, mapping; Soil physics, physical, Soil chemistry, chemical, Soil biology, biologica ...

. Prominent topics that involve agrobiology practices include the following but are not limited to, the role of soil

microbiota Microbiota are the range of microorganisms that may be commensal, mutualistic, or pathogenic found in and on all multicellular organisms, including plants. Microbiota include bacteria, archaea, protists, fungi, and viruses, and have been found ...

in both conventional and

sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is agriculture, farming in sustainability, sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an ...

systems, the effects of integrating livestock in sustainable agriculture systems, and the use of

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

and its relationship to agrobiology.

Soil microbiota in agriculture systems

The plant-soil

microbiome A microbiome () is the community of microorganisms that can usually be found living together in any given habitat. It was defined more precisely in 1988 by Whipps ''et al.'' as "a characteristic microbial community occupying a reasonably wel ...

is a complex

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

where plants and

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic scale, microscopic size, which may exist in its unicellular organism, single-celled form or as a Colony (biology)#Microbial colonies, colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen ...

s interact and have a role in each other's survival. It refers to the

symbiotic Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biolo ...

relationship between the plants and microorganisms that live in the surrounding soil environment. The soil microbiome hosts a wide range of microorganisms including,

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

archaea Archaea ( ) is a Domain (biology), domain of organisms. Traditionally, Archaea only included its Prokaryote, prokaryotic members, but this has since been found to be paraphyletic, as eukaryotes are known to have evolved from archaea. Even thou ...

, and

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

(NC State-Plant Soil Microbiome, n.d). The long-term effects on the soil microbiome have been studied in both conventional and sustainable agriculture practices. Conventional agricultural practices generally include the heavy use of synthetic chemicals, monocropping systems, and the use of

genetically modified organism A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...

s among other practices. Conventional systems require more input and maintenance but will generally have higher yields (Stony Brook University, n.d). Agrobiology is directly related to understanding and researching everything involving conventional and organic systems from the use of biotechnology, genetics, genetic engineering, and more. Agrobiology studies the chemical composition of soils and plants, as well as the role that microorganisms play in the soil ecosystem. By understanding the complex interactions between different components scientists can develop strategies for maintaining soil health and fertility.

References

"Agrobiology"
from the

Merriam-Webster Dictionary ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the US English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by Noah Webster (1758–1843), a US lexicographer, as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's n ...

. Accessed May 2, 2023. *

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

(n.d.)
''Learn more about the plant-soil microbiome''. Plant Soil Microbial Community Consortium.
Accessed May 1, 2023. *

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

(n.d.)
''Sustainable vs. conventional agriculture''. Environmental topics and essays
Accessed May 1, 2023.

External links

* Jihoceská Univerzita (Ceské Budejovice Czech Republic). ''Journal of Agrobiology''. Publisher: Faculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia. . http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/agro. Agronomy Fertilizers {{agriculture-stub