Mighty Microbes: Plant Growth Promoting Microbes in Soil Health and Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

AbstractPlants undergo a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses and to cope with such stresses, they have developed different direct and indirect mechanisms. Soil contains a diverse microbial community that have a diverse functional niche. For maximum growth and protection benefits, plants establish partnership with a variety of different beneficial microbes such as bacteria and fungi. These microbes can live inside and outside of plant tissue and have a broad host range. Microbes can modulate plant defense signaling pathways in the presence of stress conditions. Beneficial microbes can antagonize stresses and improve plant growth and fitness. We need to better understand the ecology and biology of the microbes associated with plants to exploit maximum services associated with beneficial microbes. For environmentally friendly and sustainable agriculture, we should reduce input of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides and in this regard, use of beneficial plant-associated microbes is a promising alternative.KeywordsBeneficial microbesSustainable agricultureSoil healthSymbiosisPGPRFungiBiotic and abiotic stresses