Interaction of Growth-Promoting Microorganisms with Pulses: Nutrition, Tolerance to Abiotic Stresses and Increase in Grain Production
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant–Soil Interactions".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 434
Special Issue Editor
Interests: microbial ecology; microbiome; cowpea (Vigna unguiculata); mung bean (Vigna radiata); PGPR (Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria); BNF (Biological Nitrogen Fixation); biofertilizer
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Pulses are legume plants from the Fabaceae family that are characterized as a high-quality food resource for human nutrition and food security. Their dry seeds have a low fat and high protein and fiber content, making them an alternative to meat consumption. Aiming at the expansion of pulse production, the United Nations launched a global event in 2016, called “World Pulses Day” which takes place yearly on February 10th. From that year onwards, an average increase of 18.5% has been observed compared to the previous six years. Pulses benefit from the interaction with atmospheric nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which increase productivity, reduces nitrogen fertilizer demand, and mitigates the environmental impacts caused by either soluble fertilizer leaching into groundwater or greenhouse gas emissions. The main microsymbiont for the most common pulses are Rhizobium leguminosarum symbiovar viciae for peas, lentils, and broad beans; Rhizobium spp. and Mesorhizobium spp. for common beans and chickpeas, respectively; and Bradyrhizobium spp. for cowpeas, mung beans, and pigeon peas. In addition to rhizobia, more than 80 taxa of plant-growth-promoting microorganisms have been reported to be associated with pulses capable of promoting the stimulation of nutritional traits and tolerance to abiotic stresses; the former may be triggered by the action of several microbial taxa, while the latter is preferentially associated with bacteria from the Bacillota phylum.
This Special Issue welcomes the submission of studies that explore the association of pulses with growth-promoting microorganisms capable of improving the nutritional aspects of crops related to nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and others, or tolerance to abiotic impacts due to temperature, humidity, salinity, among others, aiming to increase productivity and reduce production costs, thus increasing the grain supply of pulses.
Dr. Norma Gouvêa Rumjanek
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. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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
- plant-growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM)
- mineral solubilization
- phytohormone production
- siderophore production
- 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase production
- BNF activity
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
