Plant, Soil and Microbes

Soil provides an excellent and diverse ecological niche for the rhizospheric microorganisms. Amongst the various rhizospheric microorganisms,mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth promoting bacterium and root nodule bacterium are of prime importance because they have the unique ability to interrelate with soil, host plant and also responsible for the assorted underground interactions. These microorganisms also play a vital role in nutrient uptake, water relation, ecosystem establishment, plant diversity and also had an adverse effect on the pathogen in diverse range of pathosystems. Beside these microorganisms also influence the water use efficiency, biological function during plant soil interactions and directly or indirectly by altering the microbial balance in the rhizosphere and can suppress the broad spectrum of plant pathogens. Considering the importance of these ground rhizospheric microorganisms in the plant disease protection, the combined application of these microorganisms is more beneficial than use of single agent and provides a better management against the soil borne plant pathogens. The interaction of these microorganisms also provide an overview about the biological functions of soil and its interaction with plant microbe system, nutrient management, biogeochemical cycling, water various environmental condition in response to biotic and abiotic stresses, signalling of molecules during host pathogen interaction, role of phytohormones against the envriomental stresses and the major challenges in the formulation of microorganisms for the biocontrol products. The present proposed Volume 2 will describe the basis of nutrient exchange between the microorganisms and the host plants, mechanism of disease protection and recent molecular techniques involved in this multi-tropic interaction. It will also provide a sound background for the students, teachers, and researchers interested in soil microbiology, plant pathology, ecology and agronomy.