Rhizo-Microbiome for the Sustenance of Agro-Ecosystems in the Changing Climate Scenario

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable food production is one of the greatest global challenges, particularly in the context of ever-increasing human population and climate change due to various anthropogenic activities. Improving crop yield using traditional ways of adding agrochemicals in soil negatively impacts the health of soil, the environment, and agroecosystems and causes groundwater and crop food contamination, etc. Moreover, the extensive and non-targeted use of various agrochemicals results in pesticide resistance.

The crop microbiome and plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have been regarded as among the most suitable strategies for sustaining the health of the soil, crop, and agroecosystem. PGPR plays a strategic role in the improvement of crop production under a changing climate, antioxidant defense and nutrient uptake in plants, sustainable management of plant disease (biocontrol), and seed priming. The crop microbiome plays a crucial role in the immunity of plants and their tolerance to various types of abiotic (drought, salinity, metal toxicity, pesticide residues) and biotic (pathogens, insects, pests, etc.) stresses. The crop microbiome and endophytic microbiome thus offer new opportunities for further research and development in plant growth and health.

Currently, the scientific world is experiencing a reinvigoration of microbial biotechnologies which can be used to improve agroecosystem functioning, utilizing the potential of the crop microbiome and PGPR for enhanced soil health, crop vigor, protection from abiotic and biotic stresses, development of resistance in plants, and removal of toxic substances from the soil. Thus, the increased awareness of the importance of microorganisms for plant and soil health has fueled a boom in research on PGPR.

This Special Issue on “Crop Microbiome for the Sustenance of Agro-Ecosystems in the Changing Climate Scenario” aims to gather contributions from scientists working in diverse disciplines related to:

• The crop microbiome in plant health, plant immunity, plant defense, and plant growth promotion;
• The crop microbiome in plant defense mechanisms;
• Crop microbiome evolution;
• Understanding the structure and function of the crop microbiome;
• Resilience of the agricultural microbiome to climatic changes;
• Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for the improvement of crop production;
• PGPR in the mitigation of abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, heat, metal ions, and pesticide residues;
• PGPR in the mitigation of biotic stresses such as pathogens (bacterial, fungal, viral, etc.), insects, pests, etc.;
• PGPR in antioxidant defense mechanisms;
• PGPR in nutrient mineralization and nutrient uptake;
• PGPR in plant growth promotion;
• PGPR—biofertilizer formulations;
• PGPR—biocontrol agent formulations.

Prof. Dr. R. Z. Sayyed
Dr. Noshin Ilyas
Prof. Dr. Hesham Ali El Enshasy
Guest Editors

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