For many years, man has worked to improved agricultural productivity by taking advantage of the work of millions of soil microbes. These microbes can be cultivated on a large scale and made to produce important biofertilizers, to assist plant growth; and biopesticides, to control weeds, pests and diseases. This process is known as microbial fermentation. Microbes function as both providers and defenders. They can contribute to plant nutrition by converting important macromolecules into forms usable by plants, as biofertilizers; or they can defend plants from other invasive, parasitic plants and pests, as bioherbicides and bioinsecticides.
