Plant Growth-Promoting Microbes for Sustainable Biotic and Abiotic Stress Management

Abiotic and biotic stress factors, including drought, salinity, waterlog, temperature extremes, mineral nutrients, heavy metals, plant diseases, nematodes, viruses, and diseases, adversely affect growth as well as yield of crop plants worldwide. Plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM) are receiving increasing attention from agronomists and environmentalists as candidates to develop an effective, eco-friendly, and sustainable alternative to conventional agricultural (e.g., chemical fertilizers and pesticide) and remediation (e.g., chelators-enhanced phytoremediation) methods employed to deal with climate change-induced stresses. Recent studies have shown that plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), rhizobia, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), cyanobacteria have great potentials in the management of various agricultural and environmental problems. This book provides current research of biofertilizers and the role of microorganisms in plant health, with specific emphasis on the mitigating strategies to combat plant stresses.