Interaction between Plants and Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) for Sustainable Development

Dear Colleagues,

Through biomineralization and cooperative evolution, microbes and plants in symbiotic relationships have a great potential to increase soil fertility and quality. Plant growth-promoting rhizomicrobes (PGPR), which exhibit antagonistic and synergistic interactions resulting in plant growth enrichment, can better explain plant activity with microbes. PGPR has a significant impact on the soil's properties and is crucial in transforming uncultivated, poor-quality soil into cultivable soil. For increased agricultural productivity, many regions of the world actively exploited PGPR's ability to improve soil quality and plant growth. Usually, this enters through direct or indirect methods. The direct method entails supplying compounds that promote plant growth directly to the plant. This is achieved using techniques like bio-fertilization, rhizo-remediation, and control of plant stress. The absorption of water and nutrients from the soil is the most frequent environmental factor limiting the growth of terrestrial plant species. By increasing nutrient accessibility or absorption from a finite pool of nutrients in the soil, PGPR as bio-fertilization enhances plant growth. Neutralizing plant stress, which includes biotic and abiotic stress, is another important function of PGPR. Abiotic stress is imposed on a plant by its environment and takes the form of physical or chemical stress. Biotic stress is a biological threat. Advanced biotechnology techniques and the application of techniques like nano- and micro-encapsulation can close these gaps. It is possible to adapt this Special Issue to include PGPR as a strategy for eradicating plant diseases and promoting agricultural output.

Dr. Marika Pellegrini
Dr. Beatriz E. Guerra-Sierra
Guest Editors

Dr. Debasis Mitra
Guest Editor Assistant

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