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Today, the agriculture industry is confronted with simultaneous issues of how to fully embrace mass production of safer food in terms of both quality and quantity. Most industries are concerned with avoiding significant levels of soil pollution and environmental threats as a result of the excessive and harmful use of synthetic products on crops. Therefore, there is a need to adopt sustainable technological innovations that can ensure the sustainability of agricultural production systems.Microbial Biostimulants for Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Bioremediation discusses the benefits, challenges, and practical applications of eco-friendly biotechnological techniques using biostimulants derived from beneficial microorganisms. The chapters cover the use of these organisms to increase crop production, enhance soil fertility and maintain soil health, create crop and plant tolerance to different abiotic stressors, release required nutrients to the soil, increase resistance to plant pathogens/pests, improve nutrient use efficiency of crops, and rejuvenate polluted environments.FEATURES Explores the physiological, morpho-anatomical, and biochemical molecular plant rejoinders involved in stimulating crop productivity Provides information on the physiological, cellular, and molecular modes of action underlying microbial biostimulant interfaces Summarizes methods and approaches for executing microbial stimulant technology Outlines numerous environmental management and remediation strategies This book is an ideal resource for researchers, engineers, and academics working in soil science, crop science, water remediation, microbiology, and biotechnology.

This edited book is a comprehensive compilation highlighting sources of biostimulants, their production, influence on plant growth and development, and regulatory status of plant biostimulants for better understanding and opening new vistas for future research. Biostimulants, the biological formulations are known to meliorate the plants growth and vigour, improve nutritional efficiency along with maintaining their well-being mainly via providing protection against a wide range of infections. Both horticultural as well as agricultural crops involve the utilization of the biostimulants. Fulvic and humic acids, nitrogen-containing compounds, protein hydrolysates, favourable bacteria and fungi, and extracts of seaweed are the chief active components of these. The major driving force for these materials is the organic farming industry and demand for sustainable crop production. This book will be of great interest to researchers, teachers, climate change scientists, capacity builders, and policy makers. Moreover, this book does the work of a supplementary reading for students in various fields such as agriculture, soil science, ecology, environmental science and forestry at undergraduate as well as graduate level. This will be a gainful read for national and international agricultural scientists and the policy makers.• Elaborates on biostimulants induced influence of plant growth and development • Covers all aspects of biostimulants sources and its role in plant life in detail • Discusses evidence based approach in biostimulants sources and its useful applications in plants

Biostimulants for crops from seed germination to plant development focuses on the effects and roles of natural biostimulants in every aspect of plant growth development to reduce the use of harmful chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Biostimulants are a group of substances of natural origin that offer a potential to reduce the dependency on harmful chemical fertilizers causing environmental degradation. While there is extensive literature on biostimulants, there remains a gap in understanding how natural biostimulants work and their practical application. This book fills that gap, presenting the ways in which biostimulants enhance seed vigor and plant productivity by looking into their mode of action, an area still being researched for deeper understanding. Exploring the roles of seed germination, pollen tube formation, pollen-pistil interaction, flower and fruit setting, to plant pigments, rhizospheric and soil microorganisms, the book also sheds light on the challenges and realistic opportunities for the use of natural biostimulants. - Approaches biostimulant research with the goal of transforming scientific research into practical application - Includes real-world examples from laboratory, greenhouse and field experiments - Presents the biochemical, physiological and molecular mode of action of biostimulants

Salicylic acid (SA) chemically known as 2-hydroxy benzoic acid, is a ubiquitous endogenous plant growth regulator of phenolic nature, synthesized by plants which acts as a vital endogenous signaling molecule in plant immune response. SA is recognized as a multifaceted element that have crucial roles in various plant physiological processes such as seed germination, seedling growth, photosynthetic activity, nutrient absorption and transport, respiration, nitrogen metabolism, thermogenesis, stomatal closure, flowering, expression of senescence-related genes, inducing antioxidant defense system and resistance to a broad spectrum of pathogens. SA mode of action varies with plant species, plant developmental phase, its mode of application, and its endogenous level in the plant. SA have high metabolic and physiological activity therefore, involved in the activation of plant defense responses against biotic and abiotic stress factors and also involved in the transcriptional reprograming and in controlling transcription and expression of several defense related genes. SA in minor quantities provide plant stress tolerance, but high amounts of SA triggers oxidative stress due to generation of plethora of ROS which ultimately lead to cell death. Under stress conditions, SA interplays with reactive oxygen species (ROS) as crucial signaling molecules for inducing genetically controlled defense-related mechanisms and expression of genes that cause defense against stress. Keeping these points in mind, various aspects like significance of SA for plants, its stress mitigation properties as well as cross-talk with other plant growth regulators have been mentioned. The book has seven chapters which deal with the role of phytohormone salicylic acid in plants, its mechanism of synthesis, signaling & homeostasis in plants, its crosstalk with ROS in mitigation of stress and its interaction with other plant growth regulators. We believe that this book comprises a wealth of knowledge to botanists, agriculturists, students and researchers of colleges and universities.

In a convenient, single-source reference, this book examines plant growth substances and their relationship to a wide range of physiological processes, ranging from seed germination through the death of the plant. If offers a clear illustration of the pragmatic uses of plant substances in agriculture and demonstrates how basic laboratory research has translated into increased production and profit for the grower. This work begins by building a solid foundation in the subject, which contains historical aspects and fundamental concepts, and provides a methodology for extraction, purification, and quantification of plant growth substances. This forms the basis for understanding the ensuing chapters that explore the many processes involving plant growth substances, including: • seed germination • seedling growth • rooting • dormancy • juvenility • maturity • senescence • flowering • abscission • fruit set • fruit growth • fruit development • premature drop • ripening • promotion of fruit drop • tuberization • photsynthesis • weed control. Providing a detailed examination of plant growth substances and their relationships to specific physiological plant processes, Plant Growth Substances gives students, researchers, and professionals a much needed reference.

Title from eBook title screen (viewed on Jan. 27, 2007).