Sustainable Agricultural Systems for Fruit Orchards: The Influence of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria on the Soil Biodiversity and Nutrient Management

Abstract

Awareness towards the loss of soil quality as well as consumer perception about the environmental impact of agricultural activity have stimulated research and government activity toward the implementation of a sustainable agricultural system. The European Commission, in the next funding program, established specific objectives to promote the conversion towards a more environmentally sustainable agricultural system through its Green Deal Strategy. The demand for ecologically and sustainably cultivated fruits increases every year; however, suppressing such demand is necessary to improve the production performance of orchards. The sustainable management of orchard production requires combined knowledge from different fields. The key challenge is to design orchard systems that can integrate sustainable practices, nutrient cycle knowledge and promotion of soil biodiversity. Therefore, this review compiles works that address the challenges in the implementation of a sustainable agriculture system based on Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria (PGPB) and their impact on soil biodiversity as well as that of nutrient management on the development of fruit orchards.