Role of Organic Amendments in the Stress Tolerance of Plants

The defense mechanisms of plants to different types of environmental stresses becomes lower down due to the use of uneven artificial fertilizers. The synthetic fertilizers have detrimental impacts on soil, for example changing the soil pH and polluting the soil and underground water. On the other hand, the organic amendments or natural fertilizers improve the water saturation within the soil profile and makes water available to the plants under drought stress condition. Farmyard manure not only provides large amount of NPK, but also many other macronutrients and micronutrients. Cover crops and green manuring crops secure the plant from heat stress and chilling stress. Biofertilizers provide microorganisms, which helps in the degradation of large molecules and prevents the plant from nutrient deficiency. Compost maintains the soil temperature and soil pH. Compost containing chemicals such as phenols or tannins may have an antagonistic effect on soil-borne pathogens and protect composted trees and plants from different types of soil-borne diseases. Soil acidity and salinity can be controlled by the application of organic or natural fertilizers. In this chapter, we discuss different types of organic amendments, their comparison with synthetic fertilizers, and how they mitigate the effect of environmental stresses. This chapter also updates the understanding about sustainable agriculture farming by using organic amendments under climate change scenario.