Is it genuinely true that microorganisms in the soil generally harm plants?

False

False. Most microorganisms are beneficial to plants in many ways. For example, they decompose residues, and so are able to build soil aggregates. They also make key nutrients available to plants, such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, through nutrient cycling that is the result of a dynamic soil food web involving soil microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes. Beneficial organisms can also help fight disease organisms. Those tiny organisms are so important that many plants exude substances through their roots to attract them to live in their root zones. Resources: Brady and Weil, The Nature and Properties of Soils 13th edition, pg. 709; Shen, et. al. Phosphorus Dynamics: From Soil to Plant; Plant Physiology, American Society of Plant Biologists, July 2011, Vol. 156, pp. 9971005, 2011