Microbe-based novel biostimulants for sustainable crop production

Abstract

The emerging status and scope of microbial products for better plant growth and prevention of diseases have attracted attention of researchers, industrialists to promote this field and farmers to utilize them as microbial stimulants. The hazardous impact of chemical fungicides in our ecosystem can also be mitigated through these strategies. Owing to the multifarious applications of biostimulants, agriculturally important microorganisms (AIMs) have been incorporated in agricultural system as biofertilizers and biopesticides. AIMs employed multiple mechanisms including nutrient solubilization, production of siderophores, phytohormone, antimicrobial compounds and volatiles, ACC deaminase and exopolysaccharide to work as biostimulant for alleviation of abiotic and biotic stresses in plants. In the present chapter, a comprehensive study on microbial biostimulants has been emphasized to confer their growth promoting and stress alleviation activities in plants. This would surely facilitate in a profound perception about mechanism of the plant-microbe interaction. Once a better knowledge developed about the governing action mechanisms of the microbe-based biostimulants is made, it will be easy to target next generation of biostimulants which may have multitargeted approach. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019.