Agriculture today faces major challenges such as soil fertility loss, climate change, and increased attacks by pathogens and pests. The production of sufficient quantities of food in a sustainable and healthy farming system is based on environmentally friendly approaches such as the use of biofertilizers, biopesticides, and the return of crop residues. The multiplicity of beneficial effects of soil microorganisms, particularly plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB), highlights the need to strengthen research on these issues and apply the results to modern agriculture. The development of a cadre of microorganisms to be used as biofertilizers and/or biopesticides while deploying a smart mix of farming techniques, crop genetic engineering methods, and biotechnology, and then integrating these components into the traditional smallholder farming systems offers the potential of meeting the growing demand for food by improving both yield and nutritional quality of crops as well as reducing environmental impact.
PGPB play an important role in the physiology of the host plants and this association implies protective effects on host plants. The presence of these microorganisms may impart for the plants an increasing resistance to biotic stresses due to the production of metabolites, the induction of antimicrobial compounds by plants, or simply, by space competition with these pathogens. Furthermore, these benefits extend to an increase in the tolerance of plants to stressful factors such as salinity, drought, heavy metal presence, or low pH. However, one of the most interesting benefits of the PGPB is the host growth promotion.
This Research Topic welcome submissions of original research papers, reviews, and methods showing the latest research on the beneficial effects of rhizobacteria on major food crops. These finding including (but not limited to) research on the following sub-themes:
• Study of the plant-microbe interaction
• Promotion of plant growth by Rhizobacteria
• Biofertilizers from rhizobacteria
• Increased tolerance to abiotic stresses by rhizobacteria
• Activation of plant defense responses by rhizobacteria
• Rhizobacteria as biological control agents against crop pathogens and pest
Please note: Frontiers in Plant Science does not accept solely descriptive studies - studies which report responses to treatments and descriptive reports of ‘Omics studies will not be considered if they do not progress biological understanding of these responses.
Agriculture today faces major challenges such as soil fertility loss, climate change, and increased attacks by pathogens and pests. The production of sufficient quantities of food in a sustainable and healthy farming system is based on environmentally friendly approaches such as the use of biofertilizers, biopesticides, and the return of crop residues. The multiplicity of beneficial effects of soil microorganisms, particularly plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB), highlights the need to strengthen research on these issues and apply the results to modern agriculture. The development of a cadre of microorganisms to be used as biofertilizers and/or biopesticides while deploying a smart mix of farming techniques, crop genetic engineering methods, and biotechnology, and then integrating these components into the traditional smallholder farming systems offers the potential of meeting the growing demand for food by improving both yield and nutritional quality of crops as well as reducing environmental impact.
PGPB play an important role in the physiology of the host plants and this association implies protective effects on host plants. The presence of these microorganisms may impart for the plants an increasing resistance to biotic stresses due to the production of metabolites, the induction of antimicrobial compounds by plants, or simply, by space competition with these pathogens. Furthermore, these benefits extend to an increase in the tolerance of plants to stressful factors such as salinity, drought, heavy metal presence, or low pH. However, one of the most interesting benefits of the PGPB is the host growth promotion.
This Research Topic welcome submissions of original research papers, reviews, and methods showing the latest research on the beneficial effects of rhizobacteria on major food crops. These finding including (but not limited to) research on the following sub-themes:
• Study of the plant-microbe interaction
• Promotion of plant growth by Rhizobacteria
• Biofertilizers from rhizobacteria
• Increased tolerance to abiotic stresses by rhizobacteria
• Activation of plant defense responses by rhizobacteria
• Rhizobacteria as biological control agents against crop pathogens and pest
Please note: Frontiers in Plant Science does not accept solely descriptive studies - studies which report responses to treatments and descriptive reports of ‘Omics studies will not be considered if they do not progress biological understanding of these responses.