Plant-Microbe Interaction: An Approach to Sustainable Agriculture

The book addresses current public concern about the adverse effect of agrochemicals and their effect on the agro-ecosystem. This book also aims to satisfy and contribute to the increasing interest in understanding the co-operative activities among microbial populations and their interaction with plants. It contains chapters on a variety of interrelated aspects of plant-microbe interactions with a single theme of stress management and sustainable agriculture. The book will be very useful for students, academicians, researcher working on plant-microbe interaction and also for policy makers involved in food security and sustainable agriculture.

Dr. Devendra K. Choudhary

Dr. Choudhary has fifteen years of experience in Microbial Ecology and is currently working as an Assistant Professor-Grade III at Amity University, Noida. Before joining Amity University, Dr. Choudhary spent several years at Mody University, Lakshmangarh, as an Assistant Professor, preceded by work at Peoples and Barkatullah University, Bhopal as a Lecturer cum scientist. Dr. Choudhary received his PhD in Microbiology in the year 2005 from GB Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, after having received his MSc in Microbiology from MDS University, Ajmer and qualifying CSIR-UGC-NET in 2002.

Dr. Choudhary has worked on GOI sponsored major projects as Principle Investigator (PI) wherein recently he worked on two major projects sponsored by DBT and SERB, New Delhi at Amity University until the year 2015 preceded by Mody University and DST FAST-TRACK project at the Department of Biotechnology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal.

As an active researcher, Dr Choudhary has published research and review articles along with several book chapters for reputed journals and edited books. In addition, he has served as PhD supervisor/co-supervisor for several research scholars. Under supervision of Dr Choudhary his scientific team has assigned three accession numbers for bacterial cultures wherein two from MTCC, IMTECH (MTCC, 12057 & 12058) and one with MCC no 2607. Most recently, his team has filed three patents with the India Patent Office, New Delhi. Recently, in association with senior colleagues, Dr. Choudhary has edited book on 'Microbial-mediated induced systemic resistance in plants' with emphasis on global food security.

Dr Choudhary has been recognized as Member of The National Academy of Sciences (MNASc)-2016. Besides, he has selected for Indian National Science Academy (INSA) visiting and summer research fellowship-2014. Further, he received Dr RS Rana Memorial best research award in the year 2013, sponsored by the Association of Microbiologists of India. Besides, several other achievements has been credited in his account.

Prof. Dr. Narendra Tuteja

Dr. Narendra Tuteja, presently acting as Director, Amity Institute of Microbial Technology (AIMT), Amity University Uttar Pradesh (AUUP), Noida. Before joining AIMT he spent years as Group Leader & Senior Scientist, International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi. Sp: Plant molecular biology/biotechnology/stress tolerance/plant-microbes interactions. Academically Dr. Tuteja completed his M.Sc. (1977), Ph.D (1982) & D.Sc. (2008) in subject Biochemistry from University of Lucknow. Professionally he served as Group Leader & Senior Scientist (2012-2015), Plant Molecular Biology Group (PMB), International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi; Senior Scientist (2008-11) PMB Group, ICGEB, New Delhi; Associate Scientist (1997-2007) PMB Group, ICGEB, New Delhi; Group Leader & Associate Scientist (1995-1997) PMB Group, ICGEB, New Delhi; Assistant Research Scientist (1988-1995) Molecular Biol. Group, ICGEB, Trieste, Italy; Postdoctoral Fellow (1986-1988) UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA; Visiting Scientist (1983-1986) NIH (NCI and NICHHD), Bethesda, Maryland, USA; Research Assistant (1977-1983) K.G. Medical College, Lucknow, UP, India. Based on his contribution to science & society he has been elected as Fellow for various science academies India/abroad; Fellow of "Third Word Academy of Sciences", Trieste, Italy (FTWAS), Fellow of "National Academy of Agricultural Sciences", New Delhi (FNAAS), Fellow of "National Environmental Science Academy", New Delhi (FNESA), Fellow of "Indian Academy of Sciences", Bangalore (FASc.), Fellow of "Indian National Science Academy", Fellow of "National Academy of Sciences", Allahabad (FNASc.). Besides he has served as an expert member for various advisory committeesand Task Force constituted by GOI; Advisory Committee of "Bejo Sheetal Bioscience Foundation", Jalna, MR, India, Task Force Expert Member of the Plant Sciences Research Committee of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, Expert Member of the Academic Committee meeting of Central Institute of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), CSIR, Lucknow, Task Force Expert Member of Department of Information Technology (DIT), Ministry of Communication & Information Technology, New Delhi and Expert Member of Advisory Board, Agricultural Scientist Recruitment Board, New Delhi. Dr. Tuteja has become as associate Editor for Plant Signaling & Behavior (PSB) (Landes Bioscience, Austin, USA), Editor-in-Chief for Plant Signaling & Behavior (PSB) Vol. 6, Issue 2, Feb. 2011; Special issue on Plant abiotic stress. (Landes Bioscience, Austin, USA). In addition his name was included in the list of Member of the Editorial Advisory Board for The Open Plant Science Journal, Bentham Science Publishers Ltd. Oak Park, IL, USA, Arch. Biochem. Biophys (ABB), Elsevier, New Your, USA, and Plant Physiol. Biochem. (PPB), Elsevier, New Your, USA.

Prof. Dr. Ajit Varma

Dr. Varma completed his M.Sc. (1959) & Ph.D. (1964) degrees at Allahabad University, Allahabad, India. In the course of his professional career, he has also served as a Microbiologist (Assistant Professor), IARI, New Delhi (1963-1971), Senior Microbiologist (Associate Professor), IARI, New Delhi (1971-1974), Associate Professor, JNU, New Delhi (1975-1984), and Professor, JNU, New Delhi (1985-2004). He has been a visiting professor & visiting research scientist at the Technical University, Graz (Austria), University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen (Germany), Friedrich Schiller University, Jena (Germany), Philipps University, Marburg (Germany), Technical University, Munich (Germany), Kingston (Jamaica), Max Planck Visiting Professorship (Germany), Helmholtz Zentrum, Muenchen (Germany), Gutenberg University, Mainz (Germany), CSIC, Madrid (Spain), University of Dundee (Scotland), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), and ICGEB (Italy). His international awards/fellowships include the Commonwealth Fellowship (Australia), National Research Council (Canada), Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany), National Science Foundation (USA), Indo-Czechoslovakia Exchange Programme (Prague), DAAD Fellowship (Germany), and the Deutsches BMFT Programme, George-August University, Gottingen (Germany), RAISA. He was awarded a fellowship for Innovative Research in Biotechnology (Italy), Swiss Federal Research Fellowship (Switzerland), the BP Koirala award (Nepal) and DFG-INSA Fellowship (Indo- Germany), as well as the FAMI Award-Association of Microbiologists of India and Honorary Diploma, UMF, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Dr. Varma has successfully completed major projects as PI sponsored by DBT, DST, DRDO & ICAR. Besides, he has supervised more than 60 PhD students and published over 300 research articles for national and international journals of repute, as well as several major review articles and chapters in books. He has published 50 books in the area of Microbial Technology, published by Academic Press, London, CRC Press, Florida, USA, IDRC, Canada and Springer-Verlag, Germany. Dr. Varma has been the series editor for Springer-Verlag's Series on Soil Biology, and has edited fifty volumes on Soil Biology. He was also nominated as Editor-in-Chief by IK Internationals to make series of books on Microbial and Biotechnological Research. Dr. Varma has been a member of the National Academy of Agriculture Sciences (FNAAS), International Society of Symbiosis, Boston, USA, Indian Science Congress Association, Executive Council, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, University Research Council, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Academic Council, Amity University Rajasthan, ASSOCHAM Knowledge Millennium Council, ASSOCHAM Expert Committee on Agriculture and Food Processing, and ASSOCHAM Expert Committee on S&T and Innovation. He has vast experience in organizing national and international training workshops/symposia and congresses.