A genus of free-living bacteria found in soil and water that can fix atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into a form plants can use.
From 'azote' (nitrogen) + 'bacter' (bacteria, from Greek 'bakteron' meaning rod or staff). Coined in the early 1900s to name bacteria that process nitrogen.
These bacteria are invisible heroes of agriculture—they literally pull nitrogen from the air and make it available to plants, which is why crop rotation and Azotobacter-rich soil make farms more productive!
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