Microbe-Mediated Mitigation of Abiotic
Stress in Plants
7
Maddur Puttaswamy Raghavendra
Abstract
The application of microorganisms is considered to be economically feasible in
agricultural practices and moreover eco-friendly because of its natural origin. A
wide range of microorganisms are already in field applications as plant growth
promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). They are of rhizosphere origin involved in plant
growth promotion and recent reports reveal its application in alleviating plant
associated stress, whether it is abiotic or biotic. The diversity of these organisms
is huge and even mechanisms employed to mitigate the plant stress are also
different and are specific to individual strains. In this chapter, abiotic stress with
special reference to high salt concentrations and drought is discussed. Along with
these agriculture is facing another peculiar problem of plastic pollution. The
recent decade has witnessed incessant and indiscriminate use of plastics and
now the microplastics are distributed everywhere and have become an inseparable component of the agricultural practices. This chapter hence intends to provide
information on the present status of plastic pollution and the role of soil microflora in degrading plastics in agricultural fields.
Keywords
Stress · Microorganisms · Plant growth promotion
M. P. Raghavendra (*)
Postgraduate Department of Microbiology, Maharani’s Science College for Women, Mysuru,
Karnataka, India
# The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte
Ltd. 2020
B. Giri, M. P. Sharma (eds.), Plant Stress Biology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9380-2_7
227
Stress in Plants
7
Maddur Puttaswamy Raghavendra
Abstract
The application of microorganisms is considered to be economically feasible in
agricultural practices and moreover eco-friendly because of its natural origin. A
wide range of microorganisms are already in field applications as plant growth
promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). They are of rhizosphere origin involved in plant
growth promotion and recent reports reveal its application in alleviating plant
associated stress, whether it is abiotic or biotic. The diversity of these organisms
is huge and even mechanisms employed to mitigate the plant stress are also
different and are specific to individual strains. In this chapter, abiotic stress with
special reference to high salt concentrations and drought is discussed. Along with
these agriculture is facing another peculiar problem of plastic pollution. The
recent decade has witnessed incessant and indiscriminate use of plastics and
now the microplastics are distributed everywhere and have become an inseparable component of the agricultural practices. This chapter hence intends to provide
information on the present status of plastic pollution and the role of soil microflora in degrading plastics in agricultural fields.
Keywords
Stress · Microorganisms · Plant growth promotion
M. P. Raghavendra (*)
Postgraduate Department of Microbiology, Maharani’s Science College for Women, Mysuru,
Karnataka, India
# The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte
Ltd. 2020
B. Giri, M. P. Sharma (eds.), Plant Stress Biology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9380-2_7
227