Chapter 15 - Plant–microbe interactions in plants and stress tolerance

Abstract

Due to increasing incidences of a large number of different biological and nonbiological stresses all over the world, the growth of crop plants may be restrained by these stresses in the era present. The use of plant growth–promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in agriculture has attracted a great deal of interest in research, due to PGPR‘s numerous benefits to stressed plants. The use of PGPR is well known as one of the most promising methods for improving the growth and yield in the plants in a sustainable, environment-friendly way. The current chapter underlines the agricultural importance of PGPR in improving the growth and yield of crop plants and in augmenting the crop plants‘ resistance against various environmental stresses (i.e., salinity, drought, heavy metal toxicity, and nutritional imbalance) explored until now. The information presented in this chapter can help provide a better understanding of how PGPR may improve the growth and yield of crop plants, increase the resistance of these environmental stresses. Additionally, this chapter highlights future research areas in the use of PGPR in stressed agriculture.