Submit to Agriculture Review for Agriculture Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Applications of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria in Crop Production

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (27 June 2023) | Viewed by 7768

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Oksana Lastochkina

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Institute of Biochemistry and Genetics, Ufa Federal Research Centre RAS, 450054 Ufa, Russia
Interests: crop protection; plant-microbe interaction; PGPB; endophytes; plant stress adaptation and tolerance; stress physiology/biochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

At present, the reduction in plant growth, yield and quality due to diverse environmental stresses along with climate change significantly limits the sustainable production of major food crops. It is highly desirable to have an approach to the reduction in food losses that is efficient, eco-friendly and bio-safe. The diversity of soil microorganisms and plant–microbial associations are among the most attractive areas in the use and development of sustainable crop production systems. In particular, a special interest is a technology based on the use of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB).

This Special Issue, “Applications of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria in Crop Production”, aims to present the latest scientific research findings dealing with various aspects of crop physiology, responses to environmental stresses, adaptation and tolerance mechanisms upon application of PGPB. In particular, this Special Issue seeks findings on the interactions of PGPB with plants and on multiple physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms underlying the manifestation of the growth-stimulating and protective effects of PGPB on plants both under normal and common stress conditions. Understanding the basic mechanisms of PGPB-induced resilience in crop plants is important to realize their full potential in the future both for crop breeding and for developing biological preparations based on them, as well as new approaches to the safe management of the productivity and quality of major food crops of the world under global climate changes.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) various aspects of PGPB application and its involvement in growth regulation, defense response development and yield formation in crop plants under normal and stress conditions.

Dr. Oksana Lastochkina
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

crop production
plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB)
plant-microbe interaction
environmental stresses
stress tolerance/resistance development
eco-friendly agriculture
climate change
yield quality

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

18 pages, 3533 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rhizosphere Bacteria Biofertiliser Formulations Improve Lettuce Growth and Yield under Nursery and Field Conditions

by Ziyu Shao, Alexander Arkhipov, Maria Batool, Sean R. Muirhead, Muchineripi S. Harry, Xuan Ji, Hooman Mirzaee, Lilia C. Carvalhais and Peer M. Schenk

Agriculture 2023, 13(10), 1911; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13101911 - 29 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1252

Abstract

Rhizosphere bacteria can provide multiple benefits to plants, including increased nutrient supply, pathogen/disease control, and abiotic stress tolerance, but results from pot trials do not always translate to field conditions. This study tested whether rhizosphere biocontrol bacteria can also provide plant growth promotion and how benefits can be provided at a commercial farm. Commercial lettuce seeds and plants were treated with rhizosphere biocontrol bacteria Bacillus velezensis UQ9000N, B. amyloliquefaciens 33YE, Brevibacillus laterosporus 4YE, and Pseudomonas azotoformans UQ4510An. 33YE increased the head diameter, plant height, and fresh weight of the Green Moon cultivar, while 33YE, UQ4510An, and UQ9000N increased the fresh and dry weight of Liston, a more heat-tolerant cultivar, via a single seed treatment or repeat root treatments under nursery and field conditions across different inoculation schedules and growth stages. Significant growth promotion was also demonstrated when inoculating field plants after transplanting (in particular for 33YE). Applications of these microbial biostimulants to lettuce seeds or plantlets potentially enable earlier transplanting and earlier harvests. Repeat inoculations using irrigation water and long-lasting formulations may further advance the benefits of these biostimulants as microbial biofertilisers for plant growth promotions in the field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria in Crop Production)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 7390 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Potential of Hydroponic Seed Minituber Enrichment with the Endophyte Bacillus subtilis for Improving the Yield Components and Quality of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

by Liudmila Pusenkova, Oksana Lastochkina and Sezai Ercişli

Agriculture 2023, 13(8), 1626; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13081626 - 18 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1212

Abstract

This study examined the potential of using the endophytic bacteria Bacillus subtilis (10-4 and 26D) to enrich hydroponically grown potato seed minitubers (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Bashkirsky) to improve plant growth, photosynthetic pigments, yield, and quality parameters, including nutritional value (i.e., macro-/microelements, vitamin C, anthocyanins). Potato seed minitubers, obtained from in-vitro-grown microplants in a hydroponic system, were inoculated with endophytic B. subtilis and subsequently grown in pots under controlled conditions. The results demonstrated the successful colonization of seed minitubers by B. subtilis, with subsequent distribution into growing plants (roots, shoots). The endophytes accelerated the plant’s phenological shifts, resulting in earlier emergence of sprouts, budding, and flowering compared with control plants. They also had increased leaf photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll (Chl) a, Chl b, and carotenoids), total leaf area, and positively influenced leaf proline contents. The height of plants and number of stems per plant did not change significantly upon endophyte treatment, but improved root growth was observed throughout the experiment. As a result of endophyte application, there was an increase in stolon weight, number and size of tubers, and overall tuber yield. There were no significant differences in terms of total dry matter and starch content of the tubers compared to the control group, but the sugar levels decreased and the size of the starch grains was larger in endophyte-treated tubers. Furthermore, endophyte treatment resulted in an increased accumulation of nutrients including N, P, K, Cu, and Fe, as well as vitamin C and anthocyanins in harvested tubers. These findings indicate that colonization of hydroponically grown potato seed minitubers with endophytic B. subtilis (10-4 and 26D) before planting has great potential as an eco-friendly approach to obtain higher-quality seeds and to increase tuber yield and nutritional value in field conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria in Crop Production)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 1672 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Inoculation with Potassium Solubilizing Bacteria and Its Effect on the Medicinal Characteristics of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis

by Shun-Xin Zhao, Qiao-Sheng Deng, Chun-Yang Jiang, Qiang-Sheng Wu, Yan-Bin Xue, Guo-Li Li, Jing-Jing Zhao and Nong Zhou

Agriculture 2023, 13(1), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13010021 - 21 Dec 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1451

Abstract

Potassium (K) use efficiency in Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis production is relatively low, and the excessive use of K fertilization has negative environmental impacts. Bacterial isolates can effectively alleviate this situation. The present work aimed to analyze the effects of different combinations of three potassium-solubilizing bacteria (KSB) (Bacillus thuringiensis, B. polymyxa, and Paenibacillus amylolyticus) on K in soil and P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. The results showed that the contents of different forms of K were increased after the application of KSB. Compared with the control group, the maximum increases of slow-acting K, available K, quick-acting K, exchangeable K, and water-soluble K were 32.6% under inoculation with both P. amylolyticus and B. polymyxa, 73.5% with B. thuringiensis, 114.0% with B. thuringiensis, 83.2% with P. amylolyticus, and 210.0% with B. thuringiensis, respectively. This promoted the conversion of soil K to the form of K with high plant availability. Pseudo-protodiosgenin and diosgenin H contents were improved by KSB inoculations, which promoted medicinal quality of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. Correlation analysis showed that there were significantly positive correlations among the five forms of K in the soil in all experimental groups. In conclusion, the inoculation of KSB effectively improved the plant availability of soil K and medicinal quality of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis, providing a path for sustainable production of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria in Crop Production)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

24 pages, 793 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Recent Use of Plant-Growth-Promoting Bacteria to Promote the Growth of Agricultural Food Crops

by Lucy Reed and Bernard R. Glick

Agriculture 2023, 13(5), 1089; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13051089 - 19 May 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3219

Abstract

In the past 15–20 years, the employment of Plant-Growth-Promoting Bacteria (PGPB) to facilitate the growth of agricultural food crops has increased dramatically. These beneficial soil bacteria, whose use and demonstrations of efficacy have previously been largely limited to the laboratory, have now been shown to be effective under field conditions. In addition, the mechanisms that these bacteria utilize to facilitate plant growth are now mostly well characterized. Moreover, several companies across the globe have commercialized a number of PGPB and there is every indication that this trend will continue to grow. As a consequence of these developments, in this review article, a large number of recent reports on the successful testing of many different types of PGPB and their effects on various food crops is discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria in Crop Production)

► Show Figures