Ratna Prabha – författare

This book explores the significance of soil microbial diversity to understand its utility in soil functions, ecosystem services, environmental sustainability, and achieving the sustainable development goals. With a focus on agriculture and environment, the book highlights the importance of the microbial world by providing state-of-the-art technologies for examining the structural and functional attributes of soil microbial diversity for applications in healthcare, industrial biotechnology, and bioremediation studies. In seven chapters, the book will act as a primer for students, environmental biotechnologists, microbial ecologists, plant scientists, and agricultural microbiologists. 

The performance of crops in the soil largely depends on the physico-chemical components of the soil, which regulate the availability of nutrients as well as abiotic and biotic stresses. Microbes are the integral component of any agricultural soil, playing a vital role in regulating the bioavailability of nutrients, the tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses and management of seed-borneand soil-borne plant diseases. The second volume of the book Microbial Inoculants in Sustainable Agricultural Productivity - Functional Applications reflects the pioneering efforts of eminent researchers to explore the functions of promising microbes as microbial inoculants, establish inoculants for field applications and promote corresponding knowledge among farming communities.

In this volume, readers will find dedicated chapters on the role of microbes as biofertilizers and biopesticides in the improvement of crop plants, managing soil fertility and plant health,enhancing the efficiency of soil nutrients and establishing systemic phytopathogen resistance in plants, as well as managing various kinds of plant stress by applying microbial inoculants. The impact of microbial inoculants on the remediation of heavy metals, soil carbon sequestration, function of rhizosphere microbial communities and remediation of heavy metal contaminated agricultural soils is also covered in great detail.

How to achieve sustainable agricultural production without compromising environmental quality, agro-ecosystem function and biodiversity is a serious consideration in current agricultural practices. Farming systems’ growing dependency on chemical inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, nutrients etc.) poses serious threats with regard to crop productivity, soil fertility, the nutritional value of farm produce, management of pests and diseases, agro-ecosystem well-being, and health issues for humans and animals. At the same time, microbial inoculants in the form of biofertilizers, plant growth promoters, biopesticides, soil health managers, etc. have gained considerable attention among researchers, agriculturists, farmers and policy makers.

The first volume of the book Microbial Inoculants in Sustainable Agricultural Productivity - Research Perspectives highlights the efforts of global experts with regard to various aspects of microbial inoculants. Emphasis is placed on recent advances in microbiological techniques for the isolation, characterization, identification and evaluation of functional properties using biochemical and molecular tools. The taxonomic characterization of agriculturally important microorganisms is documented, along with their applications in field conditions.

The book exploresthe identification, characterization and diversity analysis of endophytic microorganisms

This books presents an updated compilation on fundamental interaction mechanisms of microbial communities with the plant roots and rhizosphere (belowground) and leaves and aerial parts (aboveground). Plant rhizopshere recruits its own microbial composition that survive there and help plants grow and develop better under biotic and abiotic conditions. Similar is the case with the beneficial microorganisms which are applied as inoculants with characteristic functions. The mechanism of plant-microbe interactions is interesting phenomenon in biological perspectives with numerous implications in the fields. The First volume focuses on the basic and fundamental mechanisms that have been worked out by the scientific communities taking into account different plant-microbe systems. This includes methods that decipher mechanisms at cellular, physiological, biochemical and molecular levels and the functions that are the final outcome of any beneficial or non-beneficial interactions in crop plants and microbes. Recent advances in this research area is covered in different book chapters that reflect the impact of microbial interactions on soil and plant health, dynamics of rhizosphere microbial communities, interaction mechanisms of microbes with multiple functional attributes, microbiome of contrasting crop production systems (organic vs conventional), mechanisms behind symbiotic and pathogenic interactions, endophytic (bacterial and fungal) interaction and benefits, rhizoplane and endosphere associations, signalling cascades and determinants in rhizosphere, quorum sensing in bacteria and impact on interaction, mycorrhizal interaction mechanisms, induced disease resistance and plant immunization, interaction mechanisms that suppress disease and belowground microbial crosstalk with plant rhizosphere. Methods based on multiphasic and multi-omics approaches were discussed in detail by the authors. Content-wise, the book offers an advanced account on various aspects of plant-microbe interactions and valuable implications in agro-ecological perspectives.

This book puts an updated account on functional aspects of multiphasic microbial interactions within and between plants and their ecosystem. Multipronged interaction in the soil microbial communities with the plants constitute a relay of mechanisms that make profound changes in plant and its micro-environment in the rhizopshere at physiological, biochemical and molecular levels. In agro-ecological perspectives, such interactions are known to recycle nutrients and regulate signalling molecules, phytohormones and other small molecules that help plant growth and development. Such aspects are described deeply in this book taking examples from various crop plants and microbial systems. Authors described the most advantageous prospects of plant-microbe interaction in terms of inoculation of beneficial microorganisms (microbial inoculants) with the plants in which microbes proliferate in the root rhizosphere system and benefit plants'' with definite functions like fixation of nitrogen, solubilization and mobilization of P, K, Zn and production of phytohormones. The subject of this book and the content presented herein has great relevance to the agro-ecological sustainability of crop plants with the help of microbial interactions.

Microbial communities and their functions play a crucial role in the management of ecological, environmental and agricultural health on the Earth. Microorganisms are the key identified players for plant growth promotion, plant immunization, disease suppression, induced resistance and tolerance against stresses as the indicative parameters of improved crop productivity and sustainable soil health. Beneficial belowground microbial interactions with the rhizosphere help plants mitigate drought and salinity stresses and alleviate water stresses under the unfavorable environmental conditions in the native soils. Microorganisms that are inhabitants of such environmental conditions have potential solutions for them. There are potential microbial communities that can degrade xenobiotic compounds, pesticides and toxic industrial chemicals and help remediate even heavy metals, and thus they find enormous applications in environmental remediation. Microbes have developed intrinsic metabolic capabilities with specific metabolic networks while inhabiting under specific conditions for many generations and, so play a crucial role. The book Microbial Interventions in Agriculture and Environment is an effort to compile and present a great volume of authentic, high-quality, socially-viable, practical and implementable research and technological work on microbial implications. The whole content of the volume covers protocols, methodologies, applications, interactions, role and impact of research and development aspects on microbial interventions and technological outcomes in prospects of agricultural and environmental domain including crop production, plan-soil health management, food & nutrition, nutrient recycling, land reclamation, clean water systems and agro-waste management, biodegradation & bioremediation, biomass to bioenergy, sanitation and rural livelihood security. The covered topics and sub-topics of the microbial domain have high implications for the targeted and wide readership of researchers, students, faculty and scientists working on these areas along with the agri-activists, policymakers, environmentalists, advisors etc. in the Government, industries and non-government level for reference and knowledge generation. 

Microbial communities and their functions play a crucial role in the management of ecological, environmental and agricultural health on the Earth. Microorganisms are the key identified players for plant growth promotion, plant immunization, disease suppression, induced resistance and tolerance against stresses as the indicative parameters of improved crop productivity and sustainable soil health. Beneficial belowground microbial interactions with the rhizosphere help plants mitigate drought and salinity stresses and alleviate water stresses under the unfavorable environmental conditions in the native soils. Microorganisms that are inhabitants of such environmental conditions have potential solutions for them. There are potential microbial communities that can degrade xenobiotic compounds, pesticides and toxic industrial chemicals and help remediate even heavy metals, and thus they find enormous applications in environmental remediation. Microbes have developed intrinsic metabolic capabilities with specific metabolic networks while inhabiting under specific conditions for many generations and, so play a crucial role. The book Microbial Interventions in Agriculture and Environment is an effort to compile and present a great volume of authentic, high-quality, socially-viable, practical and implementable research and technological work on microbial implications. The whole content of the volume covers protocols, methodologies, applications, interactions, role and impact of research and development aspects on microbial interventions and technological outcomes in prospects of agricultural and environmental domain including crop production, plan-soil health management, food & nutrition, nutrient recycling, land reclamation, clean water systems and agro-waste management, biodegradation & bioremediation, biomass to bioenergy, sanitation and rural livelihood security. The covered topics and sub-topics of the microbial domain have high implications for the targeted and wide readership of researchers, students, faculty and scientists working on these areas along with the agri-activists, policymakers, environmentalists, advisors etc. in the Government, industries and non-government level for reference and knowledge generation. 

Microbial communities and their multi-functionalities play a crucial role in the management of soil and plant health, and thus help in managing agro-ecology, the environment and agriculture. Microorganisms are key players in N-fixation, nutrient acquisition, carbon sequestration, plant growth promotion, pathogen suppression, induced systemic resistance and tolerance against stresses, and these parameters are used as indicators of improved crop productivity and sustainable soil health. Beneficial belowground microbial interactions in the rhizosphere help plants combat abiotic challenges in the unfavourable environmental conditions of native soils. These microorganisms and their products offer potential solutions for agriculture in problematic areas since they are able to degrade xenobiotic compounds, pesticides and toxic chemicals and help remediate heavy metals in the rhizosphere and so make deteriorated soils suitable for crop production. 

This book compiles the latest research on the role of microbes in the rhizosphere and agro-ecology, covering interaction mechanisms, microbe-mediated crop production, plant and soil health management, food and nutrition, nutrient recycling, land reclamation, clean water systems, agro-waste management, biodegradation, bioremediation, biomass and bioenergy, sanitation and rural livelihood security. It is a comprehensive reference resource for agricultural activists, policymakers, environmentalists and advisors working for governments, non-governmental organizations and industries, helping them update their knowledge of this important, but often neglected, research area.