Organic Amendments: Microbial Communities and their Role in Plant Fitness and Disease Suppression

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Background

Modern agriculture can oftentimes rely on the extensive use of synthetic chemicals. Chemicals may have a negative impact on terrestrial ecosystems and human health, and even fail to cope with disease outbreaks due to resistance emergence. The negative effect of chemicals can be further amplified due to climate change which affects the nutritional content of plants and increases the impact of diseases on crop productivity. Therefore, it is urgent to develop and apply alternative and sustainable ways to deal with phytopathogens. In this respect, organic amendments with suppressive properties are used to control pathogens that conventional methods, such as synthetic pesticides, fail to control. In addition, the use of organic amendments in agriculture may affect soil quality and impact plant available nutrients.

While suppressiveness is usually attributed to the microorganisms present in the organic amendments, the mechanisms governing microbial recruitment by the roots and the composition of selected microbial communities are not fully elucidated. Practical application of these substrates is limited due to the inconsistency of results and their unpredictable outcome in different pathosystems. The use of ‘omics’ technologies has considerably advanced our understanding of the mechanisms and processes involved in plant-microbe/microbiome interactions. However, these complex interactions may be profoundly modified in different conditions and effective adaptation of microorganisms from organic amendments to their environment is a real challenge.

The goal of this Research Topic is to collect studies that explore the interactions between plant roots, organic amendments and microorganisms inhabiting these substrates. Such collection can increase our understanding on how microbes present in organic amendments can interact with and benefit their plant host, and how the processes involved in this interaction can be better exploited to improve plant protection and productivity in a sustainable manner and contribute in global food security.

In this Research Topic, we welcome Original research, Reviews and Opinions manuscripts focusing on:

1. The composition/activity of microbial communities in the rhizosphere of plants growing in organic-amended soils.
2. The potential of compost amendments and their microbial communities to improve the nutritional value and growth of plants and protect them from pathogens.
3. The isolation of microbes from organic amendments and the engineering of bioinoculants that can be used as alternatives for chemical pesticides (in field/greenhouse conditions).
4. Climate change and the application of compost amendments to combat diseases and improve nutritional value of plants.

Please note: descriptive studies that report responses to treatments will not be considered if they do not progress physiological understanding of these responses.

Keywords: microbial communities, bioinoculants, plant disease, rhizosphere, organic amendments

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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