Advances in Microbial Study for Crop Improvement

Now and in the future, meeting the global demand for healthy food for the ever-increasing population is a crucial challenge. In the last seven decades, agricultural practices have shifted to the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to achieve higher yields. Despite the huge contribution of synthetic fertilizers in agronomy, their adverse effects on the environment, natural microbial habitat, and human health cannot be underrated. Besides, synthetic fertilizers are manufactured from non-renewable sources such as earth mining or rock exploitation. In this context, understanding and exploiting soil microbiota appears promising to enhance crop production without jeopardizing the environment and human health. This chapter reviews the historical as well as current research efforts made in identifying the interaction between soil microbes and root exudates for crop improvement. First, microbial consortium viz. bacteria, algae, fungi, and protozoa are briefly discussed. Then, the application of bio-stimulants followed by genome editing of microbes for crop improvement is summarized. Finally, the perspectives and opportunities to produce bioenergy and bio-fertilizers are analyzed.