Phytic acid (myo-inositol hexakisphosphate) is the main storage form of phosphorus (P) in plants and accounts for more than 80 % of the total P in cereals. It is one of the sources of energy and an important mineral chelating compound in plants. However, it is a major anti-nutritional factor for human beings especially to individuals consuming large quantities of cereals like rice, finger millet and wheat. The anti-nutritional properties of phytates are known to be reduced through dephosphorylating process by means of enzyme, 'phytase' of microbial origin. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of microbial phytase in improving the utilization and absorption of nutrients from phytate. Reduced level of phytate in foods is known to enhance the bioavailability of minerals and other associated nutrients needed for human health. Phytase is getting prime importance in processing and manufacturing industries that supply feeds for birds and non-ruminant animals. It can be a good substitute for inorganic phosphorus (Pi) supplements in poultry and animal feed, which otherwise can cause environmental pollution. Research has been conducted to prove antinutritional nature of phytic acid along with an effort to reduce its content in foods consumed. This review briefly narrates the study related to properties of phytate, application phytate solubilizing microorganisms and enzyme 'phytase' obtained from them.

A green house experiment was conduct by use of IAA (MZL -8 and TCL -1) and GA3 (CAL – 1 and ACL- 3) producing yeast isolates on growth of tomato crop by root dip method with 8 treatments and 3 replication at Department of Agricultural Microbiology, GKVK, Bengaluru. The yeastisolate TCL -1 recorded maximum plant height, number of leaves per plant, number of branches per plant, root length, fresh shoot biomass, dry shoot biomass, fresh root biomass, dry root biomass, IAA and GA3 content, 44.73 cm, 80, 11.40, 14.70 cm, 24.00 g/plant, 11.75 g/plant, 7.98 g/plant, 3.91 g/plant, 1.205 μg/g of leaf and 0.550 μg/g of leaf respectively. The control (T1) recorded Lowest plant height, number of leaves per plant, number of branches per plant, root length, fresh shoot biomass, dry shoot biomass, fresh root biomass, dry root biomass, IAA and GA3 content, 22.20 cm, 55.70, 8.00,9.00 cm, 11.00 g/plant, 6.23 g/plant, 3.67 g/plant, 2.07 g/plant, 0.384 μg/g of leaf and 0.200 μg/g of leaf respectively at 50 DAT.

A green house experiment was carried out at Department of Agricultural Microbiology, GKVK, Bengaluru by use of IAA (MZL -8 and TCL -1) and GA3 (CAL – 1 and ACL- 3) producing yeast isolates on growth of tomato crop by spraying method with 8 treatments and 3 replication. The highest plant height, number of leaves per plant, number of branches per plant, root length, fresh shoot biomass, dry shoot biomass, fresh root biomass, dry root biomass, IAA and GA3 content, 44.73 cm, 80, 11.40, 14.70 cm, 24.00 g/plant, 11.75 g/plant, 7.98 g/plant, 3.91 g/plant, 1.205 μg/g of leaf and 0.550 μg/g of leaf, respectively by the yeast isolate TCL -1.The least plant height, number of leaves per plant, number of branches per plant, root length, fresh shoot biomass, dry shoot biomass, fresh root biomass, dry root biomass, IAA and GA3 content, 22.20 cm, 55.70, 8.00,9.00 cm, 11.00 g/plant, 6.23 g/plant, 3.67 g/plant, 2.07 g/plant, 0.384 μg/g of leaf and 0.200 μg/g of leaf, respectively was recorded by control (T1) treatment at 50 DAT.