Saline Soil-based Agriculture by Halotolerant Microorganisms

This book discusses the role of salt in current agricultural approaches, including the low salt tolerance of agricultural crops and trees, impact of saline soils, and salt-resistant plants. 

Halophytes are extremely salt tolerant plants, which are able to grow and survive under salt at concentrations as high as 5 g/l by maintaining negative water potential. The salt-tolerant microbes inhabiting the rhizospheres of halophytes may contribute to their salt tolerance, and the rhizospheres of halophytic plants provide an ideal opportunity for isolating various groups of salt-tolerant microbes that could enhance the growth of different crops under salinity stress. 

The book offers an overview of salt-tolerant microbes' ability to increase plant tolerance to salt to facilitate plant growth, the potential of the halophytes’ rhizospheres as a reservoir of beneficial salt-tolerant microbes, their future application as bio-inoculants in agriculture and a valuable resource for an alternative way of improving crop tolerance to salinity and promoting saline soil-based agriculture. This special collection of reviews highlights some of the recent advances in applied aspects of plant (halophytes)-microbe interactions and their contribution towards eco-friendly approaches saline soil-based agriculture.

Soil Salinity as a Challenge for Sustainable Agriculture and Bacterial Mediated Alleviation of Salinity Stress in Crop Plants.- Restoration of Plant Growth under Saline Soil by Halotolerant Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR).- Halotolerant Rhizobacteria: A Promising Probiotic for Saline Soil Based Agriculture.- Development of Salt Tolerance in Crops by Using Halotolerant Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria Associated with Rhizospheric Soils of Halophytes.- Halotolerant Plant Growth–Promoting Fungi and Bacteria as an Alternative Strategy for Improving Nutrient Availability to Salinity–Stressed Crop Plants.- Bacterial Endophytes from Halophytes: How Do They Help Plants to Alleviate Salt Stress?.- Effects of Halophilic Bacteria on Biochemical Characteristics of Rice Cultivars under Salinity Stress Conditions.- Production of Rhamnolipids by a Halotolerant Bacterial Strain with Seawater and its Application in the Treatment of Powdery Mildew of Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa).- Bottlenecks in Commercialization and Future Prospects of Beneficial Halotolerant Microorganisms for Saline Soils.- Role of Halotolerant Microbes in Plant Growth Promotion under Salt Stress Conditions.

Dr. Manoj Kumar is an Associate Professor at the Department of Life Sciences, Central University of Jharkhand, India. He is committed to high-quality science that contributes to both improving our understanding of plant development and to increasing the ecological niche. He has extensive professional experience and has had affiliations with Jawaharlal Nehru University, and the Universities of Melbourne, Pretoria and Ton Duc Thang. His research focus includes tree molecular genetics, plant-microbe interaction, and bioremediation of soil pollutants.

He has authored 45 research papers and 5 review articles in leading international journals as well as 13 books. He has also led several research projects and R&D facilities at industry level and collaborated internationally. 

Dr. Hassan Etesami is a research scientist with 10 years of experience in the field of soil biology and biotechnology. He obtained his doctor’s degree from the Department of Soil Science, University College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Iran, where he is currently a member of the faculty. Dr Etesami has a special interest in developing biofertilizers and biocontrol agents that meet farmers’ demands. He has coauthored over 50 publications (research papers, review papers, and book chapters) in various areas including biofertilizers and biocontrol.

He is also reviewer for the Journal of Hazardous Materials, Acta Physiologiae Plantarum, Pedosphere, European journal of plant pathology, Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions A: Science, Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, Field Crops Research, Journal of Biotechnology, International Journal of Phytoremediation, Biological Control, Crop Protection, Research Journal of Biotechnology, Environmental Pollution, Plant and Soil, PLOS One, Silicon, Arabian Journal of Geosciences, Chemosphere, Journal of Applied Microbiology, Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Environmental Systems Research, Environmental Sustainability, Journal of Basic Microbiology,  The Crop Journal, Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Letters in Applied Microbiology, BMC Microbiology, and Scientific Reports. 

Dr. Etesami’s research areas include microbial ecology, bio-fertilizers, soil pollution, integrated management of abiotic (salinity, drought, heavy metals, and nutritional imbalance) and biotic (fungal pathogens) stresses, plant-microbe-interactions, environmental microbiology, and bioremediation.

Dr. Vivek Kumar is an Associate Professor, involved in teaching and research and guidance. He works at the Himalayan School of Biosciences, Swami Rama Himalayan University, Jolly Grant, Dehradun, India. He currently serves on the editorial boards of numerous respected international journals, such as Environment Asia, International Journal of Biological & Chemical Sciences, Environmental Sustainability, Journal of Advanced Botany and Zoology, and the Journal of Ecobiotechnology. He is also a reviewer for several prestigious international journals, including the Journal of Hazardous Materials, Environmental Sustainability, Science International, Acta Physiologiae Plantarum, Environmental Science & Pollution Research, and Rhizosphere. In addition, he is an evaluator of project proposals for “The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)”, Netherlands. He has published over 100 research papers, review articles, book chapters, and he has edited several Springer books. Dr. Kumar also served as a Microbiologist at the Department of Soil and Water Research, Public Authority of Agricultural Affairs & Fish Resources, Kuwait for eight years.  He has been credited with the first reporting and identification of pink rot inflorescence disease of date palm in Kuwait caused by Serratia marcescens. He was awarded ‘Young Scientist Award’ for the year 2002 in ‘Agricultural Microbiology’ by the Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI). Dr. Kumar's research areas include plant-microbe interactions, sustainable agriculture, environmental microbiology and bioremediation. He has also organized various outreach activities.