Abstract
Climate change imposes biotic and abiotic stresses on soil and plant health all across the planet. Beneficial rhizobacterial genera, such as Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Paraburkholderia, Rhizobium, Serratia, and others, are gaining popularity due to their ability to provide simultaneous nutrition and protection of plants in adverse climatic conditions. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria are known to boost soil and plant health through a variety of direct and indirect mechanisms. However, various issues limit the wider commercialization of bacterial biostimulants, such as variable performance in different environmental conditions, poor shelf-life, application challenges, and our poor understanding on complex mechanisms of their interactions with plants and environment. This study focused on detecting the most recent findings on the improvement of plant and soil health under a stressful environment by the application of beneficial rhizobacteria. For a critical and systematic review story, we conducted a non-exhaustive but rigorous literature survey to assemble the most relevant literature (sorting of a total of 236 out of 300 articles produced from the search). In addition, a critical discussion deciphering the major challenges for the commercialization of these bioagents as biofertilizer, biostimulants, and biopesticides was undertaken to unlock the prospective research avenues and wider application of these natural resources. The advancement of biotechnological tools may help to enhance the sustainable use of bacterial biostimulants in agriculture. The perspective of biostimulants is also systematically evaluated for a better understanding of the molecular crosstalk between plants and beneficial bacteria in the changing climate towards sustainable soil and plant health.
Highlights
Extensive nutrient mining and risky application of synthetic agrochemicals, including various chemical fertilizers and growth regulators, are considered the triggering factors for the deleterious fate of global arable soils in conventional farming [1]
In light of the current research demand for beneficial rhizobacteria and their long-term application in soil and plant health, the goal of this review is to focus on current beneficial rhizobacteria research trends, existing research uncertainties, and practical challenges for commercial and field applications
The β-1,3 glucanase and chitinase produced by P. fluorescens and Sinorhizobium fredii can break down the chitin and N-acetylglucoseamine of the fungal cell wall and control fungal diseases caused by F. oxysporum and F. udum [173]
Summary
Extensive nutrient mining and risky application of synthetic agrochemicals, including various chemical fertilizers and growth regulators, are considered the triggering factors for the deleterious fate of global arable soils in conventional farming [1]. Several indirect mechanisms, such as biocontrol activities, induction of stress mitigating genes, production of secondary metabolites, and volatile organic compounds via beneficial rhizobacteria, were reported during root colonization [8,11,12] Several potential genera, such as Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, Lysobacter, Serratia, and Burkholderia, have exhibited excellent growth promotion and plant defense features towards sustainable agriculture through genetic advancement of soil-inhabiting beneficial rhizobacteria [7,8,9,10]. ‘Root exudates’ are the driving force for the enhanced interaction of rhizobacteria and plant roots in the rhizosphere zone [23] The nutrient compounds, such as carbohydrates, organic acids, and hormones present in root exudates may act as the signaling chemicals to colonize in the rhizospheric root for the soil-inhabiting microbes including beneficial rhizobacteria [8,19,22]. The rhizosphere works as a playground for the interlinked microbes including beneficial rhizobacteria [31]
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