Biotrophic plant-microbe interactions for land reclamation and sustainable agriculture development

Abstract

Anthropogenic undesired actions intended at agricultural and technological advancement have led to the non-judicious creation and usages of various chemicals. Contamination of soil and formation of barren lands are a worldwide crisis, and reclamation of this using chemical or physical means is not a solution. The negative aspects of pollutants in the soil and environment lead to diverse impact on human beings, fl ora and fauna also. This undesirable facet relies on the pollution type, its severity and nature. The hunt for alternative methods for digging and incineration to clean contaminated sites resulted in the application of bioremediation techniques, but this is not cost-effective. The cost-effective and viable mode could be effi cient utilization of plant-microbe interaction (PMI) pair in agricultural land reclamation. In the process of active rhizosphere functioning, root exudates of plant lead to proliferation, survival, and working of microorganisms, which subsequently results in a more efficient degradation of contaminants. The plant root system actually helps to spread microbes in the soil and assists in penetrating otherwise hard soil layers and surfaces. The inoculation of pollutant- degrading bacteria on plant seed can be an important additive to improve the efficacy of bioremediation or plant bioaugmentation. Biotrophic PMI is promising, a relatively novel technique employed in reclamation of the contaminated or degraded agricultural soils. It may be defi ned as the exploitation of efficient microbes along with their host plants to utilize or remove, obliterate, or impound hazardous chemicals at a particular site. This technology has so far been used experimentally to take away toxic heavy metals and other pollutants from contaminated soil; expansion of its capacity for applications to remove and degrade organic pollutants in the environment is the next phase. This chapter presents an overview of present aspects of microbes-plant relations in reclamation for feasible and viable augmentation of agriculture land biodiversity.