Guest Editors
Dr. Dilek Killi, Plant Production and Technologies Department, Konya Food and Agriculture University, Konya, Turkey
Dr. Deniz Sezlev Bilecen, Molecular Biology and Genetics Department, Konya Food and Agriculture University, Konya, Turkey
Summary
Global food security is imperiled by climate change, rising population, unsustainable agricultural techniques, and the loss of land for food production to bioenergy crops, industrialization, or urbanization. These threats to food security necessitate the development of sustainable technologies to maintain food production; in effect “to do more with less”. Microbial biotechnology has emerged as a promising approach to achieve sustainable agricultural production through both enhanced crop growth and improved resilience to environmental stress. Exploitation of the mutually beneficial relationships between plants and plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) may facilitate reductions in the application of inorganic mineral fertilizers, supplementary irrigation, and reduce yield losses to abiotic stress. However, to make full use of the potential applications of PGPB in agricultural settings further work is required to address uncertainties associated with factors such as: 1) which strains of PGPB are suited to specific crop genotypes / soils / environmental settings; 2) to what extent can application of PGPB enhance yield, reduce nutrient demands, improve soil properties, or enhance plant climate resilience; 3) the interaction between the PGPB with the native soil biota, and; 4) the most effective methods of application of to ensure optimal temporal and spatial development of the desired microbial community in the root-zone of the crops. Moreover, from the perspective of the inoculated bacteria, it might be difficult to adjust to an environment with competitors and predators. The aspects of inoculation formulations and/or immobilization of bacteria into polymer matrices have been suggested to establish a better environment for bacterial survival. The benefits of such techniques to facilitate establishment of the beneficial microbial community may include protection, reduction in microbial competition, and gradual release into the soil so that colonization of plant roots is supported. This special issue aims to answer some of these critical uncertainties associated with microbial biotechnologies in agricultural food production. We welcome studies from agricultural, microbial, genetic, plant physiology, and metabolomics perspectives.
Keywords
plant growth promoting bacteria, beneficial symbiotic relationships, photosynthesis, plant nutrition, soil microbes, bacteria encapsulation, colonization
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