Imagine you’re visiting a carrot farm. Your friend, the farmer, hands you a freshly pulled carrot to munch on. Would you eat it without washing it? Probably not! You would first wash it, worried about germs from the soil clinging to it.

And those concerns are valid. Studies show that just one gram of soil from the rhizosphere—the space around plant roots—can contain up to one billion bacteria. This region is bustling with countless other microbes too, including tiny worms called nematodes, fungi, algae, viruses, and parasites.

While we try to avoid these microbes, plants actually depend on them for their survival. In fact, without these microscopic helpers, plants as we know them wouldn’t even exist.

Scientists have been exploring the world of microbes for over four centuries, starting with Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in the late 17th century, who crafted microscopes to examine various materials, including soil. He discovered tiny living organisms and called them "animalcules" long before "microbe" was even in use.

This is where our journey begins—at the fascinating intersection of microbiology, soil science, plants, and agriculture. We'll explore the vital roles that soil microbes play in the life of plants and how this knowledge has transformed agriculture. 

This audio article is part of The Biosolutions Bulletin. For the text version of this article and to get The Biosolutions Bulletin delivered monthly directly to your inbox, please go to: https://www.novonesis.com/en/biosolutions-bulletin