Abstract
Abiotic stresses arising from climate change negates crop growth and yield, leading to food insecurity. Drought causes oxidative stress on plants, arising from excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to inadequate CO2, which disrupts the photosynthetic machinery of plants. The use of conventional methods for the development of drought-tolerant crops is time-consuming, and the full adoption of modern biotechnology for crop enhancement is still regarded with prudence. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) could be used as an inexpensive and environmentally friendly approach for enhancing crop growth under environmental stress. The various direct and indirect mechanisms used for plant growth enhancement by PGPR were discussed. Synthesis of 1-aminocyclopropane−1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase enhances plant nutrient uptake by breaking down plant ACC, thereby preventing ethylene accumulation, and enable plants to tolerate water stress. The exopolysaccharides produced also improves the ability of the soil to withhold water. PGPR enhances osmolyte production, which is effective in reducing the detrimental effects of ROS. Multifaceted PGPRs are potential candidates for biofertilizer production to lessen the detrimental effects of drought stress on crops cultivated in arid regions. This review proffered ways of augmenting their efficacy as bio-inoculants under field conditions and highlighted future prospects for sustainable agricultural productivity.
Highlights
The global populace increases daily at a startling rate, which implies that food production would need to be increased through sustainable agriculture to meet food demands
Drought is a major threat to food security and sustainable agriculture
If the increasing human population has to be fed, a cost-effective means of promoting crop productivity under abiotic stresses is indispensable, and the use of beneficial plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) represents an important strategy to achieve this aim
Summary
The global populace increases daily at a startling rate, which implies that food production would need to be increased through sustainable agriculture to meet food demands. Plant growth-promoting (PGP) factors are produced by beneficial bacteria within the rhizosphere of plants; the plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) that shield plants from biotic and abiotic stresses and promote their normal physiological functions These beneficial soil bacteria, though abundant in the rhizosphere, are largely under-exploited as bio-inoculants for enhancing crop production, especially under abiotic stresses, due to the paucity of information on the manner in which they interact with other organisms and plants and their functions in the soil. Utilization of PGPR as microbial inoculants is gaining more awareness as an environmentally friendly method of crop improvement compared to the constant application of chemical fertilizers, which harms the environment. We highlighted prospects of exploitation of PGPR and ways of enhancing their efficacy using modern technologies
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