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Control of Biotic and Abiotic Stresses in Cultivated Plants by the Use of Biostimulant Microorganisms

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Improvement of Crops in the Era of Climatic Changes

Abstract

The need for new eco-friendly control methods against plant diseases and pests requires that the scientific research is focused on effective tools for a safe environment for humans and animal health. The systemic acquired resistance (SAR) represents a valid opportunity in plant natural protection. Particularly, biocontrol microorganisms (BCMs) can be used as inducers of SAR. At the same time, fungal BCMs are able to promote plant growth and development (so acting as plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPMs)) that in turn determine a higher tolerance against abiotic stresses, such as drought and salinity. The ability of BCMs and PGPMs of modulating plant defence mechanisms, like SAR, was demonstrated, but the details of this BCM-plant molecular crosstalk are poorly known and many defensive compounds are likely to exist but remain to be identified. For these reasons, BCMs and PGPMs can be defined as “biostimulant microorganisms”, able to foster plant growth and defence against pathogens throughout the crop life cycle, from seed germination to plant maturity. The aim of this chapter is to give an up-to-date overview on the recent breakthroughs in the use of biostimulant microorganisms on plants for improving crop vigour, yields and quality and for increasing plant tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Viale dell’Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100, Potenza, Italy

    Adriano Sofo, Maria Nuzzaci, Antonella Vitti, Giuseppe Tataranni & Antonio Scopa

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  1. Adriano Sofo
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  2. Maria Nuzzaci
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  3. Antonella Vitti
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  4. Giuseppe Tataranni
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  5. Antonio Scopa
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Correspondence to Adriano Sofo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Sri Pratap College, Srinagar, Jammu und Kashmir, India

    Parvaiz Ahmad

  2. Department of Botany, Govt. Degree College (Boys), Anantnag, Jammu und Kashmir, India

    Mohd Rafiq Wani

  3. Department of Botany, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt

    Mohamed Mahgoub Azooz

  4. Signaling Pathway Research Unit, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

    Lam-Son Phan Tran

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Sofo, A., Nuzzaci, M., Vitti, A., Tataranni, G., Scopa, A. (2014). Control of Biotic and Abiotic Stresses in Cultivated Plants by the Use of Biostimulant Microorganisms. In: Ahmad, P., Wani, M., Azooz, M., Tran, LS. (eds) Improvement of Crops in the Era of Climatic Changes. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8830-9_5

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