Rhizosphere Engineering and Stress Resilience in Plants : Concepts and Applications

“In the hidden realm beneath our feet, a complex network of interactions unfolds between plant roots and the surrounding soil”.

The rhizosphere is a zone of intense biological and chemical activity, which plays a critical role in shaping plant growth, nutrient uptake, and ecosystem functioning. Recent advances in our understanding of root signaling and rhizosphere engineering have revealed the vast potential for manipulating these interactions to enhance crop productivity, improve soil health, and mitigate environmental stresses. It is worthwhile to decipher the molecular signals and nutrient exchanges between plants and microbes, which can in turn facilitate to design an innovative strategy to optimize rhizosphere functioning.

It is imperative to bring about the development of more climate-resilient crops, improve soil carbon sequestration, and reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers. This field also offers opportunities for novel biotechnological applications, including the development of microbe-based biofertilizers and biopesticides.

As we continue to face the challenges of a growing global population and environmental degradation, rhizosphere engineering offers a cutting-edge solution to crop productivity. It enables harnessing the power of plant–microbe interactions, unlocking new avenues for sustainable agriculture, and ecosystem restoration. This preface sets the stage for exploring the latest advances and future directions in rhizosphere engineering, highlighting its potential to revolutionize our understanding of soil ecosystems and promote a more sustainable future.

This book explores the cutting-edge science and applications of rhizosphere engineering and root signaling, bringing together insights from plant biology, soil science, microbiology, and ecology. Unraveling the intricate communication networks between roots and soil can unveil new strategies for sustainable agriculture, ecosystem restoration, and environmental resilience.

Dr. Piyush Mathur is presently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. He has been teaching for the past 6 years and has taught both at the undergraduate and post graduate level. He has done his Ph.D. in Botany with a specialization in Mycology and Plant Pathology from Delhi University. Presently, he is supervising four Ph. D. research scholars who are working on microbial diversity, bioprospecting, and plant disease management. He has published quite a number of articles papers in well-known international journals of good repute. He has also contributed articles as book chapters in International and National books. He is serving as an member of editorial board of BMC Plant Biology (Taylor and Francis). He has previously edited three books with springer and is working on other books too. Dr. Mathur is an active member of the Society of Rapeseed Mustard Research (SRMR), Bharatpur, and Delhi University Botanical Society (DUBS) Delhi, India and India Phytopathological Society, New Delhi, India

Dr. Soumya Mukherjee has accomplished his Ph.D in Plant Physiology from the Department of Botany, University of Delhi, India. He has been as ex faculty of Ramjas College, University of Delhi. Currently he is employed as a faculty in the Department of Botany, Jangipur College, University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India. He has published both research and review articles in various peer-reviewed international journals (SCOPUS and SCI indexed). He is serving as an associate editor in the editorial board of Plant signalling and Behaviour (Taylor and Francis) and Journal of Plant Growth Regulation (Springer). He has contributed various chapters (plant physiology, abiotic stress signaling) and popular articles in various books published from national and international publishers. He has authored e-learning module in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry published as an effort of National Mission on Education through ICT (MHRD Project undertaken by University of Delhi). He has been publishing edited volumes in Plant Signaling, and Communication (Springer), Rhizobiology (Springer), Phytomelatonin (Springer), Crop sustainability and IPR (Apple academic press), Strigolactones, Alkamides and Karrikins (CRC press).