This book addresses basic and applied aspects of two nexus points of microorganisms in agro-ecosystems, namely their functional role as bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides. Readers will find detailed information on all of the aspects that are required to make a microbe “agriculturally beneficial.” A healthy, balanced soil ecosystem provides a habitat for crops to grow without the need for interventions such as agro-chemicals. No organism in an agro-ecosystem can flourish individually, which is why research on the interaction of microorganisms with higher forms of life has increasingly gained momentum in the last 10-15 years. In fact, most of plants’ life processes only become possible through interactions with microorganisms. Using these “little helpers” as a biological alternative to agro-chemicals is a highly contemporary field of research. The information presented here is based on the authors’ extensive experience in the subject area, gathered in the course of their careers in the field of agricultural microbiology. The book offers a valuable resource for all readers who are actively involved in research on agriculturally beneficial microorganisms. In addition, it will help prepare readers for the future challenges that climate change will pose for agriculture and will help to bridge the current gaps between different scientific communities.

Microbial Management of Plant Stresses: Current Trends, Application and Challenges explores plant microbiota including isolated microbial communities that have been used to study the functional capacities, ecological structure and dynamics of the plant-microbe interaction with focus on agricultural crops. Presenting multiple examples and evidence of the potential genetic flexibility of microbial systems to counteract the climate induced stresses associated with their host as a part of indigenous system, this book presents strategies and approaches for improvement of microbiome. As climate changes have altered the global carbon cycling and ecological dynamics, the regular and periodic occurrences of severe salinity, drought, and heat stresses across the different regimes of the agro-ecological zones have put additional constraints on agricultural ecosystem to produce efficient foods and other derived products for rapidly growing world population through low cost and sustainable technology. Furthermore chemical amendments, agricultural inputs and other innovative technologies although may have fast results with fruitful effects for enhancing crop productivity but also have other ecological drawbacks and environmental issues and offer limited use opportunities. Microbial formulations and/or microbial consortia deploying two or multiple partners have been frequently used for mitigation of various stresses, however, field success is often variable and improvement Smart, knowledge-driven selection of microorganisms is needed as well as the use of suitable delivery approaches and formulations. Microbial Management of Plant Stresses: Current Trends, Application and Challenges presents the functional potential of plant microbiota to address current challenges in crop production addressing this urgent need to bring microbial innovations into practice. - Demonstrates microbial ecosystems as an indigenous system for improving plant growth, health and stress resilience - Covers all the novel aspects of microbial regulatory mechanism. Key challenges associated with microbial delivery and successful establishment for plant growth promotion and stress avoidance - Explores plant microbiome and the modulation of plant defense and ecological dynamics under stressed environment

With an ever-increasing human population, the demand placed upon the agriculture sector to supply more food is one of the greatest challenges for the agrarian community. In order to meet this challenge, environmentally unfriendly agroch- icals have played a key role in the green revolution and are even today commonly recommended to circumvent nutrient de?ciencies of the soils. The use of ag- chemicals is, though, a major factor for improvement of plant production; it causes a profound deteriorating effect on soil health (soil fertility) and in turn negatively affects the productivity and sustainability of crops. Concern over disturbance to the microbial diversity and consequently soil fertility (as these microbes are involved in biogeochemical processes), as well as economic constraints, have prompted fun- mental and applied research to look for new agro-biotechnologies that can ensure competitive yields by providing suf?ciently not only essential nutrients to the plants but also help to protect the health of soils by mitigating the toxic effects of certain pollutants. In this regard, the role of naturally abundant yet functionally fully unexplored microorganisms such as biofertilizers assume a special signi?cance in the context of supplementing plant nutrients, cost and environmental impact under both conventional practices and derelict environments. Therefore, current devel- ments in sustainability involve a rational exploitation of soil microbial communities and the use of inexpensive, though less bio-available, sources of plant nutrients, which may be made available to plants by microbially-mediated processes.

Crop Improvement through Microbial Biotechnology explains how certain techniques can be used to manipulate plant growth and development, focusing on the cross-kingdom transfer of genes to incorporate novel phenotypes in plants, including the utilization of microbes at every step, from cloning and characterization, to the production of a genetically engineered plant. This book covers microbial biotechnology in sustainable agriculture, aiming to improve crop productivity under stress conditions. It includes sections on genes encoding avirulence factors of bacteria and fungi, viral coat proteins of plant viruses, chitinase from fungi, virulence factors from nematodes and mycoplasma, insecticidal toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis, and herbicide tolerance enzymes from bacteria. - Introduces the principles of microbial biotechnology and its application in crop improvement - Lists various new developments in enhancing plant productivity and efficiency - Explains the mechanisms of plant/microbial interactions and the beneficial use of these interactions in crop improvement - Explores various bacteria classes and their beneficial effects in plant growth and efficiency

The current global environmental crisis is primarily the result of non-standardized parameters for environmental regulation, and is impacting e.g. clean air, safe drinking water and the quality of food, particularly in developing nations. Due to their poor/lax execution of EIA protocols, newly developing countries are preferred destinations for establishing pollution-emitting industries, which results in the degradation and depletion of their natural resources. Lack of environmental policy intervention is another major incentive to base “dirty” industries in these nations. In order to ensure sustainable development, the highest-priority issues include the monitoring and eradication of environmental problems stemming from economic development; virtually every form of economic development primarily results in the loss of forests and thus biodiversity, followed by declining air quality and the contamination of natural resources. Sustainable development ensures responsible interactions with the environment, so as to minimize the depletion or degradation of natural resources and preserve environmental quality. It involves integrated approaches to understanding the importance of environmental management systems and policy measures that lead to improved environmental performance. This book addresses the environmental concerns associated with economic development, and with approaches to attaining sustainable economic development, which include monitoring the quality of water resources, soil erosion and degradation of the natural environment.

This book explores basic and applied aspects of microorganisms, which have a unique ability to cope with abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity and changing climate, as well as biodegrader microorganisms and their functional roles. Further, readers will find detailed information on all aspects that are required to make a microbe “agriculturally beneficial.” The book’s primary focus is on microbes that are essentially “hidden miniature packages of nature” that influence agro-ecosystems. Inviting papers by prominent national and international scientists working in the field of agricultural microbiology, it addresses the biogdegrader group of microbial inoculants. Each chapter covers the respective mechanism of action and recent advances in agricultural microbiology. In addition, the book especially highlights innovations involving agriculturally beneficial microorganisms, including strategies for coping with a changing climate, and methods for developing microbial inoculants and promoting climate-smart agriculture. The information presented here is based on the authors’ extensive experience in the subject area, gathered in the course of their careers in the field of agricultural microbiology. The book offers a valuable resource for all readers who are actively involved in research on agriculturally beneficial microorganisms. In addition, it will help prepare readers for the future challenges that climate change will pose for agriculture and will help to bridge the current gaps between different scientific communities.

“Microbial Enzymes: Roles and applications in industry” offers an essential update on the field of microbial biotechnology, and presents the latest information on a range of microbial enzymes such as fructosyltransferase, laccases, amylases, lipase, and cholesterol oxidase, as well as their potential applications in various industries. Production and optimisation technologies for several industrially relevant microbial enzymes are also addressed. In recent years, genetic engineering has opened up new possibilities for redesigning microbial enzymes that are useful in multiple industries, an aspect that the book explores. In addition, it demonstrates how some of the emerging issues in the fields of agriculture, environment and human health can be resolved with the aid of green technologies based on microbial enzymes. The topics covered here will not only provide a better understanding of the commercial applications of microbial enzymes, but also outline futuristic approaches to use microbial enzymes as driver of industrial sustainability. Lastly, the book is intended to provide readers with an overview of recent applications of microbial enzymes in various industrial sectors, and to pique researchers’ interest in the development of novel microbial enzyme technologies to meet the changing needs of industry.

The world is now on the cusp of a new agricultural revolution, the so-called Gene Revolution, in which genetically modified (GM) crops are tailored to address chronic agricultural problems in certain regions of the world. This monograph report investigates the circumstances and processes that can induce and sustain this new agricultural revolution. The authors compare the Green Revolution of the 20th century with the GM crop movement to assess the agricultural, technological, sociological, and political differences between the two movements.

This book discusses the most challenging task ahead of researchers from India and around the globe: providing disease-free field crops for the ever-growing world population. In Asia, despite being cultivated in massive volumes, major crops, including cereals, oil seed, tuber and non-tuber vegetables, and fruit, are not meeting the demands of the increasing population. This book showcases naturally occurring beneficial microbes in the form of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, or PGPR, which make it possible to grow field crops without applying synthetic chemicals. Our understanding of PGPR has increased exponentially in recent decades. They play a multifarious role in developing sustainable systems of crop production and protection. The book focuses on the mechanistic behaviors of PGPRs, their use to develop sustainable cultivation techniques, and their application to enhance crop growth and productivity at the cutting edge of tech-oriented agriculture and to replace hazardous chemicals with microbial inoculants. The book is useful to agronomists, microbiologists, ecologists, plant pathologists, molecular biologists, environmentalists, policy makers, conservationists, and NGOs working on organically grown field crops.