Advantageous features of plant growth-promoting microorganisms to improve plant growth in difficult conditions

Abstract

Microbes play a fundamental role in plant growth and development. The valuable microbes, also known as plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPMs) belong to different groups such as fungi, bacteria, and archaea which are connected with plants in rhizospheric, epiphytic, and endophytic forms. These microorganisms display a group of function to promote plant growth such as phytohormone (auxin and gibberellin) production enhancement, siderophore production, micronutrient solubilization (P, K, Fe, and Zn), N2 fixation, antibiotic production, etc. Apart from growth promotion, PGPMs also confer stress and disease tolerance to plants for controlled agricultural production in harsh environmental conditions. PGPMs have the capability to induce systemic resistance (ISR) in crops against pathogen attack. To date, a huge number of microbial species have been documented for their plant growth-promoting ability. Generally, crops fail to provide adequate concentration of micronutrients in the human diet and cause micronutrient malnutrition and severe health complications. Considering all these points, PGPMs are utilized as biofertilizers to increase vigor and the nutrient value of crop plants at varied habitats. The present chapter is intended to focus the ability of PGPMs to perk up the plant growth in difficult conditions. � 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.