Role of Microorganisms in Alleviating the Abiotic Stress Conditions Affecting Plant Growth

Abstract

Agriculture is one of the main sectors that participate in building up world economy, and offers the main source of food, income, and employment to their rural populations. Despite the necessity of doubling agricultural production, quantitatively and qualitatively, to cope with the worsening increase in the global population and to meet the increasing humanitarian needs, the agricultural sector faces many abiotic stress conditions. Additionally, the great climate changes lead to an increase in the negative impact of these stressors. There are many conventional and nonconventional ways that could directly or indirectly mitigate the adverse effects of these stressors, each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. The biological tool is one of the promising methods; it depends on the effective use of beneficial microorganisms to alleviate stress conditions that affect plant growth, development, and therefore productivity. This method is economically inexpensive and eco-friendly toward the environment. Beneficial soil microorganisms such as PGPRs and AMF colonize the root zone of many plant species and help to enhance plant growth and development. Thus, this chapter is aiming to highlight the role of microorganisms in alleviating the abiotic stress conditions affecting in plant growth.