About this Research Topic

Background

The world population is projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, placing significant pressure on agricultural systems to meet the increasing demand for food. However, agricultural productivity and food security are facing substantial challenges due to climate change. Rising temperatures, high salinization of agricultural lands, more frequent droughts, and other environmental stresses adversely affect crop yields and livestock production worldwide. Furthermore, inadequate agricultural management practices such as excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, monocultures, and tillage are impairing soil health, water quality and conservation, as well as biodiversity.

Integrating sustainable and environmentally friendly techniques into agricultural production systems is crucial to address the dual challenge of crop productivity, agricultural resilience, and sustainability. In recent decades, there has been significant attention and popularity surrounding the use of beneficial microorganisms with plant growth-promoting traits and bio-based compounds in agricultural practices. Applying biostimulants and biofertilizers to plants or soil can enhance nutrient uptake, improve stress tolerance, and promote growth and development, ultimately increasing crop productivity and quality.

Beneficial microorganisms, such as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), mycorrhizal, and free-living fungi, are among the key components of biofertilizers. On the other hand, biostimulants are derived from natural sources, including plant and seaweed extracts, humic and fulvic acids, amino acids, and peptides. Additionally, root exudates containing secondary metabolites, like strigolactones and flavonoids, can serve as biostimulants and play a crucial role in plant-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere.

By understanding the role of biostimulants in mediating plant-microbe interactions, researchers can leverage these compounds to enhance the efficacy of biofertilizers in target crops and promote sustainable agriculture.

The submissions should comprise interdisciplinary work in the format of original research articles, reviews, and opinion papers. Papers should address the effects of biostimulants and biofertilizers on:

• Crop growth and development under different abiotic stresses (e.g., drought, salinity, temperature, etc.)
• Plant microbe-interactions
• Nutrient uptake efficiency
• Microbial root colonization
• Soil fertility and health
• Diversity and activity of soil microbial communities
• Crop resilience
• Stress tolerance (e.g. mitigation of oxidative stress)
• Plant metabolism
• Photosynthesis
• Crop quality attributes

Keywords: Biostimulants, Biofertilizers, Crops, Plant-microbe interactions, Soil microbial communities

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