Role of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria in Fertilization Application: At the Soil-Plant Level

Dear Colleagues,

Crop production will need to have increased by over 70% by 2050 to achieve future demands. This challenge will require integrated efforts to preserve natural resources and support intensive agriculture while controlling the detrimental impact on the environment. An increase in grain, fiber, energy, and biomass yield will require an enhanced use of applied resources to meet the predicted increasing demand of agricultural products; if this does not happen, the world may face product shortages in the coming decades. The increased production demand to achieve food security could lead to an over-application of agricultural inputs, affecting water and soil quality worldwide, with extended consequences on global warming.

Among diverse strategies used to enhance agricultural productivity, the rational use of plant nutrients coupled with biotechnologies, such as inoculation with plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), has been supported as one of the most suitable strategies for sustaining the health of soil, crop, and environment. Over the last few decades, several strategies have been developed to reduce nutrient-based fertilizer application on different crops, intending to limit expenses and environmental concerns resulting from heavy chemical fertilization and harsh environmental conditions. Therefore, integrating nutrient management strategies and technologies could significantly improve nutrient use efficiency under different environmental conditions worldwide. The inoculation of PGPB has quite a significant role in the alleviation of environmental changes under the context of climate extremes and excessive use of fertilizers in agricultural soils. Thus, the inoculation technique is recognized as one of the best and alternative strategies for ecofriendly crop management techniques as it could improve plant nutrition while reducing the dependance of fertilizer application. Answering this problem through achieving a more sustainable approach to nutrient use in agriculture provided by PGPBs requires a re-examination of the entire system and fate of nutrients in the soil, feed crops, feed regimes, and runoff potential of nutrients.

This Special Issue (original research papers, perspectives, hypotheses, opinions, reviews, modeling approaches and methods) aims to assemble contributions from researchers working in diverse disciplines related to plant nutrient–crop interactions, focusing on the role of PGPBs in fertilization applications. Studies related to PGPB and beneficial elements (e.g., Se, Si, Co, among others), heavy metals (e.g., Pb, Cr, Cd, As, Hg, among others) and/or under harsh environmental conditions are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Fernando Shintate Galindo
Prof. Dr. Marcelo Carvalho Minhoto Teixeira Filho
Guest Editors

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