Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria – Early Investigations, Present state and Future prospects

Use of biologicals based on plant-growth promoting bacteria appears as an attractive alternative to agrochemicals avoiding their harmful effects on environment and food toxicity. However, their inconsistent performance in the field remains still a challenge for further research. After a short excurse back in the history of biofertilizer and biocontrol research, we illustrate here the many facets to consider today by choosing the plant-growthpromoting Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42 as model for using endospore-forming bacteria as attractive inoculants for application in sustainable agriculture.