Plant Growth Promoting Microbes and Their Possible Roles in Growth and Development of Mangroves

Gupta N and Basak UC

Published on: 2023-03-27

Abstract

Plant growth promoting microorganisms are useful tool for growth and development of plants of different sectors viz, agriculture, forestry, horticulture and ornamentals and perform beneficial activity while residing in surrounding environment sometimes with and within host tissues. The edaphic factors, ecotypes and specialized plant environment make their presence and activity  essential for the growth and establishment of host plants in general and /or specific environment  in particular. Accessible reports indicated the incidence of such beneficial microbes from marine environment including mangrove ecosystems besides other terrestrial and aquatic area of tropical and temperate zones. Mangrove ecosystems are forest colonized with saline environments reset along the coastlines of tropical and subtropical regions in the inter tidal zones of river deltas. Mangrove ecosystems are highly dynamic, biologically diversified and support the other biological system organically. Hence, it is an ideal residence for several kind of fungi, bacteria and animals. As compared to terrestrial counterpart, the information regarding the microbes belonging to mangrove environment is   not extensively documented.  However, plant growth promoting microbes from arid mangrove are reported useful for mangrove reforestation. The role of mudflat microorganisms in the productivity, conservation and   rehabilitation of mangrove ecosystems are also notified in various literature. Now, it is established that microbes play a pilot role in plant growth and development even their survivability in abiotic and biotic stress. To address the beneficial activity towards growth and establishment of plants in stress or adaptive environment in mangrove ecosystems, these organisms act as potential tool and protect plants from adverse survival threatening conditions like diseased state, environmental pressure like salt stress etc.  The adverse situation is dealt by these plant growth promoters through various enzymatic and secondary metabolism. The vital role of plant growth promoting microbes in mangrove environment and key factors responsible for establishment, enhancing growth and long term survival in gradient salinity has been described in this chapter.