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Soil Science and Microbiology Research for Conservation Agricultural Systems
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Soil Science and Microbiology Research for Conservation Agricultural Systems

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil Conservation and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 27610

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mukesh Meena

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Botany, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur 313001, Rajasthan, India
Interests: soil science; microbiology, microbial ecology; sustainable agricultural; plant microbe interactions; fungal bio-molecules; plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria (pgpr); biocontrol; toxicology; toxic metabolites; heavy metal stress management in plant
Dr. Prashant Swapnil

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Basic Sciences, Department of Botany, Central University of Punjab, Bhatinda, Punjab 151401, India
Interests: abiotic and biotic stress tolerance in plants; abiotic stress in cyanobacteria; algal research; biocontrol; plant-microbe interaction
Dr. Andleeb Zehra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
Interests: plant pathology; microbiology; plant microbe interactions; biocontrol

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil contains a wide range of organic substrates, and plays very important roles in the growth of beneficial microbes and whole plants. Soil contains nutrients and water for uptake by microbes and plants. Interaction between plants and microbes in the rhizosphere helps to facilitate soil fertility and plant growth. These growth-promoting bacteria are referred to as plant-growth-promoting microbes (PGPMs). The rhizosphere is the soil ecological environment for the interaction between plants and microbes. These beneficial microbes include cyanobacteria, Rhizobium, Azorhizobium, Mesorhizobium, Azospirillum, Klebsiella and Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, etc. They have the tendency to colonize the root surfaces and show sustainable plant growth promotion. Soil promotes the growth of PGPRs to facilitate plant heath both directly and indirectly for protection against phytopathogenic microbes by the production of important compounds, enzymes and phytohormones. In this Special Issue, we invite original research papers and reviews that will be focused on soil ecological sciences and the response of plants and microbes towards the availability of nutrients and water in the soil. This Special Issue will be useful to address soil perception and microbes’ responses to the environment as well as plants using various approaches (e.g., physiological, biochemical, developmental).

The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Biology, mineralogy, physical and chemical properties, pedology, classification and amelioration of the soil;
  • Classification and population of soil microorganisms and their role in transformation;
  • Production of plants, their physiology, metabolism, ecology and sustainability towards agricultural systems;
  • Protection and conservation of soil degradation (loss of nutrients through natural or artificial means);
  • Types and benefits of soil microbes and their interaction with plants.

Dr. Mukesh Meena
Dr. Prashant Swapnil
Dr. Andleeb Zehra
Guest Editors

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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • soil science
  • microbiology
  • microbial ecology
  • sustainable agriculture
  • conservation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1599 KiB  
Article
Genetic Diversity of Trichoderma harzianum Isolates in Sunflower Rhizosphere: The Application of the URP Molecular Marker
by Younes Rezaee Danesh, Marika Pellegrini, Khalil Kariman, Gökhan Boyno, Rihab Djebaili, Beatrice Farda and Solmaz Najafi
Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15111; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215111 - 15 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2794
Abstract
The genetic diversity of 77 Trichoderma harzianum isolates collected from sunflower rhizosphere soils in Urmia, Khoy, and Salmas in West Azerbaijan province, Iran, was evaluated by using the Universal Rice Primer (URP) molecular marker. The DNA band pattern of the isolates was developed [...] Read more.
The genetic diversity of 77 Trichoderma harzianum isolates collected from sunflower rhizosphere soils in Urmia, Khoy, and Salmas in West Azerbaijan province, Iran, was evaluated by using the Universal Rice Primer (URP) molecular marker. The DNA band pattern of the isolates was developed using seven primers of this marker. These primers produced 186 gene loci, out of which 182 loci were polymorphic. Accordingly, the genetic diversity of the isolates was calculated, and their kinship relations were determined by cluster analysis using the NTSYS software package. URP-6R had the highest marker index among the studied primers, followed by URP-1F, URP-4R, and URP-25F, implying their higher efficiency in discriminating between the isolates. The results showed that the URP marker could discriminate between isolates using macroscopic morphological characteristics, such as color and colony type, potential of pigment production in the culture medium, and colony growth rate. Furthermore, there was no significant relationship between the geographical distribution of the isolates and the band patterns generated by the primers except for a few cases. The results generally revealed that the URP marker was an efficient tool for determining the genetic diversity of T. harzianum. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Science and Microbiology Research for Conservation Agricultural Systems)
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Review

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19 pages, 2011 KiB  
Review
Regulatory Mechanisms for the Conservation of Endangered Plant Species, Chlorophytum tuberosum—Potential Medicinal Plant Species
by Andleeb Zehra, Mukesh Meena, Dhanaji M. Jadhav, Prashant Swapnil and Harish
Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6406; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086406 - 9 Apr 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 7017
Abstract
The present review paper is an attempt to examine and provide an overview of the various conservation strategies and regulatory framework to protect endangered plants, including Chlorophytum tuberosum, popularly known as Safed Musli in the local language. C. tuberosum belongs to the family [...] Read more.
The present review paper is an attempt to examine and provide an overview of the various conservation strategies and regulatory framework to protect endangered plants, including Chlorophytum tuberosum, popularly known as Safed Musli in the local language. C. tuberosum belongs to the family Liliaceae and is being used in the indigenous systems of medicine as a galactagogue, aphrodisiac, antitumor, immunomodulatory, antidiabetic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, anti-ageing, antimicrobial, etc. This plant has great medicinal and commercial value and is part of the Biological Diversity Act, but due to a lack of effective conservation, it is on the verge of extinction because of natural and manmade reasons, such as loss of habitat, climate change, pollution, excessive harvesting, etc. The most valuable medicinal plants have great importance; hence, many conservation techniques are being employed to protect them. In furtherance to the conservation of such plant species, strategic efforts, in the form of laws and policies, are laid; however, existing legislative mechanisms and policy parameters are not sufficient to overcome the challenges of conservation of such plant species, including Safed Musli, hence, this plant has been considered as a critically endangered plant in India. It is pertinent to note that we do not have specific legislation enacted for the protection of plant species; however, efforts are being made to conserve it under various laws, such as the Forest Conservation Act, Biological Diversity Act 2002, and many other allied legislations. This basic legislation of the Biological Diversity Act also lacks focal attention on the conservation of endangered plant species. Moreover, decentralization of power and actual community participation in conservation practices are also missing. A cumulative effect of both scientific measures and legal mechanisms supported by community participation may produce better results in the conservation of plant species, including Safed Musli. The protection of rich sources and biological diversity is not being taken as seriously as it ought to be, hence, it is necessary to improve awareness and public participation in conservation techniques with effective legislation for the conservation of highly endangered plant species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Science and Microbiology Research for Conservation Agricultural Systems)
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68 pages, 20606 KiB  
Review
Euphorbia neriifolia (Indian Spurge Tree): A Plant of Multiple Biological and Pharmacological Activities
by Priya Chaudhary, Devendra Singh, Prashant Swapnil, Mukesh Meena and Pracheta Janmeda
Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1225; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021225 - 9 Jan 2023
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 8595
Abstract
Although India has a well-established and growing economy surrounding synthetic drug chemistry with an antibiotic base, a large part of the population, especially in forested villages and tribal belts, is relying solely on plant-derived drugs. This is due to a lower number of [...] Read more.
Although India has a well-established and growing economy surrounding synthetic drug chemistry with an antibiotic base, a large part of the population, especially in forested villages and tribal belts, is relying solely on plant-derived drugs. This is due to a lower number of side effects, low chances of resistance development against pathogenic microorganisms, as well as the diversity and affordability of such drugs. In the Indian subcontinents, Euphorbia neriifolia Linn. (EN) is one of the valuable plants from the big family of Euphorbiaceae, which is usually found in rocky and hilly areas. E. neriifolia was found to be useful in curing tumors, abdominal swelling, bronchial infection, hydrophobia, earache, cough and cold, asthma, leprosy, gonorrhea, spleen enlargement, leucoderma, snake bites, scorpion stings, and causing appetite improvement, etc. Different in vitro and in vivo experimental studies were performed to determine the antioxidant, anti-diabetic, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, wound healing, anti-atherosclerosis, radioprotective, anti-anxiety, anti-convulsant, anti-psychotic, anti-thrombotic, dermal irritation, hemolytic, analgesic, anti-fertility, diuretic, anti-microbial, anti-diarrheal, and anti-carcinogenic activities of the various parts of EN. Several bioactive compounds, such as euphol, nerifoliol, taraxerol, euphonerins A–G, lectin, etc., were isolated from E. neriifolia and need to be investigated further for various biological activities (cardiovascular and neuronal diseases). In the pharmaceutical sector, E. neriifolia was selected for the development of new drugs due to its broad pharmacological activities. Therefore, in the present review, distribution, classification, morphological and microscopical description, phytochemical investigation, pharmacological activities, medicinal uses, harmful effects, and their treatment were evaluated, especially against different lifestyle-related diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Science and Microbiology Research for Conservation Agricultural Systems)
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16 pages, 1912 KiB  
Review
Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR): Approaches to Alleviate Abiotic Stresses for Enhancement of Growth and Development of Medicinal Plants
by Rahul Kumar, Prashant Swapnil, Mukesh Meena, Shweta Selpair and Bal Govind Yadav
Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15514; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315514 - 22 Nov 2022
Cited by 54 | Viewed by 7670
Abstract
Plants are constantly exposed to both biotic and abiotic stresses which limit their growth and development and reduce productivity. In order to tolerate them, plants initiate a multitude of stress-specific responses which modulate different physiological, molecular and cellular mechanisms. However, many times the [...] Read more.
Plants are constantly exposed to both biotic and abiotic stresses which limit their growth and development and reduce productivity. In order to tolerate them, plants initiate a multitude of stress-specific responses which modulate different physiological, molecular and cellular mechanisms. However, many times the natural methods employed by plants for overcoming the stresses are not sufficient and require external assistance from the rhizosphere. The microbial community in the rhizosphere (known as the rhizomicrobiome) undergoes intraspecific as well as interspecific interaction and signaling. The rhizomicrobiome, as biostimulants, play a pivotal role in stimulating the growth of plants and providing resilience against abiotic stress. Such rhizobacteria which promote the development of plants and increase their yield and immunity are known as PGPR (plant growth promoting rhizobacteria). On the basis of contact, they are classified into two categories, extracellular (in soil around root, root surface and cellular space) and intracellular (nitrogen-fixing bacteria). They show their effects on plant growth directly (i.e., in absence of pathogens) or indirectly. Generally, they make their niche in concentrated form around roots, as the latter exude several nutrients, such as amino acids, lipids, proteins, etc. Rhizobacteria build a special symbiotic relationship with the plant or a section of the plant’s inner tissues. There are free-living PGPRs with the potential to work as biofertilizers. Additionally, studies show that PGPRs can ameliorate the effect of abiotic stresses and help in enhanced growth and development of plants producing therapeutically important compounds. This review focuses on the various mechanisms which are employed by PGPRs to mitigate the effect of different stresses in medicinal plants and enhance tolerance against these stress conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Science and Microbiology Research for Conservation Agricultural Systems)
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