Plant Growth Promoting Actinobacteria: A New Avenue for Enhancing the Productivity and Soil Fertility of Grain Legumes

310 Pages·2016·5.34 MB·English

by  Gopalakrishnan Subramaniam

Gopalakrishnan Subramaniam
Sathya Arumugam
Vijayabharathi Rajendran E ditors
Plant Growth
Promoting
Actinobacteria
A New Avenue for Enhancing the Productivity
and Soil Fertility of Grain Legumes
Plant Growth Promoting Actinobacteria
ThiSisaFMBlankPage
Gopalakrishnan Subramaniam (cid:129)
Sathya Arumugam (cid:129)
Vijayabharathi Rajendran
Editors
Plant Growth Promoting
Actinobacteria
A New Avenue for Enhancing the
Productivity and Soil Fertility of Grain
Legumes
Editors
GopalakrishnanSubramaniam SathyaArumugam
Bio-Control,GrainLegumes Bio-Control,GrainLegumes
ICRISAT,Patancheru,Hyderabad ICRISAT,Patancheru,Hyderabad
Telangana,India Telangana,India
VijayabharathiRajendran
Bio-Control,GrainLegumes
ICRISAT,Patancheru,Hyderabad
Telangana,India
ISBN978-981-10-0705-7 ISBN978-981-10-0707-1(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-981-10-0707-1
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016939389
#SpringerScience+BusinessMediaSingapore2016
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We dedicate this book to Dr Om Prakash Rupela (1948–2015),
Ex Principal Scientist (Microbiology), ICRISAT Patancheru,
Telangana, India, who mentored and encouraged us to work
toward biological options for agriculture.
ThiSisaFMBlankPage
Foreword
The year 2016 is a special one for pulses. The United Nations announced
2016asthe “InternationalYear ofPulses (2016 IYOP)” inorder toempha-
size the need to focus on pulses as critical components for global food and
nutritional security and to create awareness and understanding of the
challengesfacedinpulsefarmingandvaluechains.Pulses,orgrainlegume
crops, are often referred to as “poor man’s meat,” as they offer a cost-
effective alternative to animal proteins. Besides protein, their richness in
micronutrients andothervitalelementsmakepulsescriticalentitiesinfood
andfeedvaluechainsaroundtheworld.
As with all crops, pulse production is hindered by biotic and abiotic
constraints, including pest and pathogen attacks, infertile soils, and climate
variability and change. Improved cultivars and management practices are
continuing and required outputs from research to ensure that crops are
productive and profitable and their grains provide nutritious and healthy
food. Production practices must also address the risks associated with the
useofpesticidesandfertilizersandmustexplorealternateoptions,especially
biologicalresources,forenhancingtheproductionofpulses.
Inthecontextofbiologicaloptions,plantgrowth-promoting(PGP)bacte-
ria, actinobacteria in particular, are well known for their usefulness in crop
productionandprotectionandinmaintainingsoilhealth.Actinobacteriaare
commonlyfoundinsoil,compost,freshandmarinewater,anddecomposing
organic materials, and they produce secondary metabolites of agricultural
importance.Suchmetabolitesholdfungicidal,bactericidal,insecticidal,and
plant growth-promoting traits and can fill the need for biological agents.
Exploration of such potential PGP actinobacteria offers the prospect of
alternative chemical crop protectionagentsand soimprovedenvironmental
healthandsustainability.
I commend the editors, Gopalakrishnan Subramaniam, Sathya
Arumugam, and Vijayabharathi Rajendran of the book Plant Growth-
Promoting Actinobacteria: A New Avenue for Enhancing the Productivity
and Soil Fertility of Grain Legumes. They have the expertise in basic
research, crop production, and plant protection with reference to the use of
PGP actinomycetes from the laboratory to field levels. This book contains
19 chapters reporting on the combination of grain legumes with
actinomycetes, with details starting from the diversity of actinomycetes
vii
viii Foreword
throughthecommercializationofPGPactinomycetesandtheirmetabolites.
Eachchapterisstandaloneandcontributestothefield.
This book is a strong contribution to supporting pulses in food and feed
systemsglobally.Itcriticallyassessesthedataandoffersstudyonpractical
aspectsoffieldapplications.Istronglyendorsethisbookasitmakesalasting
contributiontothefieldofplantgrowth-promotingactinomycetesandforits
contributiontosustainableagriculturearoundtheglobe.
DeputyDirectorGeneral-Research PeterCarberry
InternationalCropsResearchInstituteforthe
Semi-AridTropics,Patancheru, Hyderabad,India
January21,2016
Preface
Grain legumes are the abundantly used plant protein source mainly in
developing countries of South East Asia, Africa, and Latin America. They
areacost-effectiveoptionforanimalproteinsincludingfish,meat,anddairy
products and hence attained the name “poor man’s meat.” Besides the
protein, their richness in micronutrients and other vital elements made
them essential entities in food and feed. Their unique association with
rhizobia contributes 65 % of nitrogen necessity in agriculture through the
processofsymbioticnitrogenfixation.Theirbetteradaptionasintercropwith
cereals or tuber crops helps in income generation and livelihood resilience.
Cultivationofgrainlegumesbenefitssmallholderfamiliessincetheyarethe
primarycultivatorsofthesecrops,especiallythewomensincetheirpartici-
pationinvaluechainpavesawayforcombatingnutritionaldeficienciesand
improvingthewell-beingoftheirchildren.
Constraints related to the production of legumes are pest and pathogen
attacks, unstable yield, poor adaptation, and climate changes. Besides this,
the increasing per capitaconsumptionofgrain legumes bylow-incomeand
developingcountriesmadeagapbetweengrainlegumesupplyanddemand.
In case of chickpea, groundnut, and pigeonpea, the current shortfall of
7 million tons of supply in low-income food-deficit countries is projected
to increase by almost 50 % by 2020, if the same production system
continues. The productivity of grain legumes is stagnant for the last two to
three decades in spite of using the best breeding and molecular techniques.
Further, the increasing costs associated with the improved cultivars and
negative effects associated with pesticides and fertilizer use necessitate
alternateoptions.TheUnitedNationsalsoemphasizedtheneedforfocusing
on grain legumes by announcing year 2016 as the International Year of
Pulses (2016 IYOP), in order to create awareness and understanding of the
challengesfacedbypulsefarmers.
Rhizospheric soil, inhabited and influenced by the plant roots, is usually
richinnutrientswhencomparedtothebulksoil,duetotheaccumulationof
numerousaminoacids,fattyacids,nucleotides,organicacids,phenols,plant
growth regulators/promoters, putrescine, sterols, sugars, and vitamins
releasedfromtherootsbyexudation,secretion,anddeposition.Thisresults
in enrichment of microorganisms (10–100-folds than the bulk soil) such as
bacteria, fungus,algae,andprotozoa,amongwhich bacteriainfluenceplant
ix