Beneficial Crop Microbiomes: Mitigators of Abiotic Stress
摘要
Agriculture production is greatly impacted by abiotic stresses, which affect the plant growth by ion toxicity, hormonal and nutritional imbalance, and physiological and metabolic changes. Plant-associated plant growth-promoting (PGP) microbes help in plant growth promotion and mitigation of the abiotic stress-induced changes and maintain agricultural productivity. The implementation of PGP microbes into the agricultural production system can be a profitable alternative for abiotic stress management. PGP microbes have a great potential in managing abiotic stress through different mechanisms such as the production of the phytohormones, accumulation of the osmolytes, significant changes in the root morphology and activation of the antioxidant defense systems against oxidative stress. PGP microbes induced changes result in improved plant–water relations and nutritional status in plants. Thus, PGP microbes can be exploited to enhance plant growth and productivity of the plants under stress conditions.