Plants create a dynamic micro-biosphere in the soil, around the roots, called as ‘rhizosphere’, which harbors diverse number of microorganisms for sustaining their growth and development. A soil with diverse and multi-traits microbial communities is considered healthy to enhance crop productivity. In the last decades, rhizosphere biology has gained attention due to unraveling of new mechanisms, processes and molecules in the rhizosphere that contributes towards the promotion of plant productivity. The rhizospheric microbes and associated processes are being utilized for harnessing potential of soils in effective and sustainable functioning in the agro-ecosystems. Broadly, the book discusses rhizospheric microbes and their role in modulating functions of soil and crop plant. Specifically, it highlights conventional and modern aspects of rhizosphere microbes such as – microbiome in the rhizosphere, microbes as an indicator and promoter of soil health, rhizosphere microbes as biofertilizer, biostimulator and biofortifyer, microbial signaling in the rhizosphere, recent tools in deciphering rhizobiome, and regulatory mechanisms for commercialization of biofertilizer, biopesticide and biostimulator. The book is useful for agriculture scientist, biotechnologist, plant pathologist, mycologist, and microbiologist, farming community, scientist of R&D organization, as well as teaching community, researcher and student and policy maker.

This edited book volume aims to bringing out a comprehensive collection of latest information and developments on the management of biotic stresses by the use of rhizospheric microbes across the globe. The main focus of this book is to address the scientific and practical significance of rhizosphere microbes in biotic stress management. The microbial communities in the rhizosphere ecosystem play multitude of microbe-microbe, microbe-insect/pest and plant-microbe interactions and they have not yet been fully exploited to gain benefits in this field as well as to achieve sustainability in agriculture. Among the more recent strategies, stress tolerance/resistance induced by environment-friendly elicitors of microbial origin and/or rhizosphere microorganisms has emerged as a promising supplement in the approaches to crop protection. The proposed book entitled "Rhizosphere Microbes: Biotic Stress Management” is pertinent to rhizospheric microbe-mediated biotic stress management covering all spheres of biotic stress tolerance viz., bio-resources, diversity, ecology, and functioning of microbial bio-control agents, host–parasite interaction, strategies to characterize microbial bioinoculants, interactions of rhizosphere microbes by developing a fundamental understanding of the microbial communities, exploration of the diverse roles of microbes and microbial communities and their role in biotic stress tolerance, microbe-mediated mitigation of biotic stresses, quorum sensing, microbial signalling and cross-talk in the rhizosphere, biofilm formation, cell-to-cell communication, role of microorganisms in ecosystems functioning under various biotic stress conditions, application of microbial bio-pesticides, molecular studies using microbial systems, etc. This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, crop protection scientists, capacity builders and policymakers. Also the book serves as additional reading material for under-graduate, post-graduate, and post-doctorate fellow of agriculture, forestry, ecology, life science, and environmental sciences. National and international agricultural scientists, policy makers will also find this to be a useful read.

This book presents a detailed discussion on the direct interactions of plants and microorganisms in the rhizosphere environment. It includes fifteen chapters, each focusing on a specific component of plant-microbe interactions, such as the influence of plants on the root microbiome, and the downstream effects of rhizosphere microbial dynamics on carbon and nutrient fluxes in the surroundings. As such, the book helps readers gain a better understanding of diversity above the ground, and its effect on the microbiome and its functionality.

Growing demographic trends require sustainable technologies to improve quality and yield of future food productions. However, there is uncertainty about plant protection strategies in many agro-ecosystems. Pests, diseases, and weeds are overwhelmingly controlled by chemicals which pose health risks and cause other undesirable effects.Therefore, an increasing concern on control measures emerged in recent years. Many chemicals became questioned with regard to their sustainability and are (or will be) banned. Alternative management tools are studied, relying on biological, and low impact solutions. This ResearchTopic concerns microbial biocontrol agents, root-associated microbiomes, and rhizosphere networks. Understanding how they interact or respond to (a)biotic environmental cues is instrumental for an effective and sustainable impact. The rhizosphere is in this regard a fundamental object of study, because of its role in plant productivity. This e-book provides a polyhedral perspective on many issues in which beneficial microorganisms are involved. Data indeed demonstrate that they represent an as yet poorly-explored resource, whose exploitation may actively sustain plant protection and crop production. Given the huge number of microbial species present on the planet, the microorganisms studied represent just the tip of an iceberg. Data produced are, however, informative enough about their genetic and functional biodiversity, as well as about the ecosystem services they provide to underp in crop production. Challenges for future research work concern not only the biology of these species, but also the practices required to protect their biodiversity and to extend their application in the wide range of agricultural soils and systems present in the world. Agriculture cannot remain successfully and sustainable unless plant germplasm and useful microbial species are integrated, a goal for which new knowledge and information-based approaches are urgently needed.

This book discusses the cross-talk between plants and microbes in the rhizosphere. The rhizosphere is the hotspot of microbial activities that influence plant growth and crop yield. The rhizosphere-residing microbes include the nitrogen-fixing rhizobia, mycorrhizal fungi, antibiotic-producing bacteria, antagonistic, plant-beneficial fungi, and entomopathogens. The three-way cross-talk among the plants, the pathogens and other microbes involves signaling molecules, metabolites, and physical interactions. The book also describes deleterious and beneficial aspects of this communication between plants and microbes. Plants program the local microbiome near their roots, and the microbial community has a profound influence on the functioning of the plant. This complex communication makes the collection of chapters a timely one, because the diverse subjects are linked by their focus on the molecular language of plant-microbe cross-talk. This timely and informative book is useful for students and researchers in the fields of microbiology, soil biology, and plant pathology.

The rhizosphere is a very complex environment in which the effects of the plant on soil microorganisms and the effects of the microorganisms on the plant are interacting and are interdependent. Plant root exudates and breakdownproducts attract microbes and feed them and, in turn, the plants often bene?t from the microbes. Interactions among microorg- ismsandplantrootsareessentialfornutritionalrequirementsoftheplant. Plant growth, development and productivity are largely dependent on the soil environment in the root region rhizosphere. The new techniques of studying the rhizosphere enables us to get a much better understanding of the dynamics of the rhizosphere population, such rhizosphere studies beingofinteresttoagriculturists,soilbiologists,chemists,microbiologists andmolecularbiologists. The rhizosphere microbes in?uence the root environment in several ways. They may change the oxidation-reduction potential, in?uence the availabilityofmoistureandnutrients,producegrowthinhibitingorgrowth promoting substances in the form of exudates, provide competition and possiblyinducemanyothereffects.Mycorrhizalassociationsarebene?cial in mineral uptake and in increasing root surface area for effective ion absorption. Antagonism,competitionandsynergisminsoilandtherhizoplane(r- zosphere) are the most important microbial interactions to consider in the study of rhizosphere biology. With the growing information on the production of growth regulators, competitiveness of the microbes in the rhizosphere, microsymbionts, and other factors, their effect upon plant growth will become more evident. Experiments on the introduction of microbes or their products in the rhizosphere will help to improve our understandingofthebiologyoftherhizosphere.

The use of biocontrol agents and beneficial organisms for management of plant and pest diseases appears as an environment-friendly and economic procedure. However, this option is not always available, depending on the lack of knowledge on the mechanisms of natural regulation, locally effective. In this view, this eBook considers studies and experimental works illustrating a range of problems and solutions based on microbial resources, suitable for management of biotic stress factors. These examples show how detailed data and knowledge on the organisms involved are of paramount importance to achieve a sustainable and durable management capability.

The rhizosphere, the soil volume, which is directly affected by root activity, is an important hot spot for a multitude of biotic and abiotic processes. Carbon transfer from plants to microorganisms and to soil takes place in these small volumes around living roots, creating chemical gradients and zones of microbial activity over distinct temporal and spatial scales. Hydraulic and biogeochemical properties of the rhizosphere and the formation of complex three-dimensional structures such as micro- and macroaggreates in turn, result from complex feedbacks between physical, chemical and biological processes. The aim of this Research Topic is to advance our understanding of rhizosphere interactions by collating 16 original contributions across disciplines, including original research, reviews and specific methods on the processes taking place in the rhizosphere, to shed new light on one of the most important interfaces for the diversity of life on earth.