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EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT PLANTATION CROPS RHIZOSPHERE ECOSYSTEMS ON THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF Lycopersicon esculentum (Tomato)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

The development of healthy human societies depends upon the availability of food which is one of the basic needs for human beings. The rapid increase in the human population, climate changes encompassing biotic and abiotic stresses, and land scarcity have imposed an undesirable impact on global food production. Food insecurity is a chronic issue that is likely to worsen as the human population is expected to be more than 9 billion by 2050 (Kumar and Dubey, 2020). The population increase-mediated pressure in agriculture has led to intensive use of chemical fertilizers, and pesticides to get the maximum yield out of the existing agricultural lands. Of the total, around 20–30% of the applied fertilizer is taken up by the plant. Most of the crop varieties have low nutrient uptake efficiencies. Due to low nutrients use efficiency in agriculture and soil dynamics, more than 50% of applied chemical fertilizers are lost to the environment (Fageria, 2014). Furthermore, many of the plant varieties developed in the background of the “green revolution” have become non-responsive to the fertilizers and their yields are stagnant. Both nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers added to the soil are readily volatilized, rapidly washed-off, gradually converted to un-available forms due to natural processes making the ecosphere and biosphere at higher risk for future generations. As a consequence of this, the overall agriculture production decreased along with several environmental problems such as loss of biodiversity, emission of greenhouse gases, water pollution, and soil contamination. It has subsequently deteriorated soil biology and its health. Furthermore, the higher cost of agriculture input and low-cost benefits are also affecting the farmer's interest. Due to these reasons, the agriculture system is under tremendous pressure and its sustainability is essential for (i) the management of food security for increasing demand (ii) mitigation of adverse climatic effects and changes (iii) improvement in soil quality and nutrient (Lal, 2015).

Over the past decades, sustainable food and agriculture production (SFAP) has become one of the world's most fundamental needs for food security. SFAP is an approach for the production of food and fiber in balance with a protected environment and public health. It includes the usage of