Preface

The plants are constantly interacting with diverse microbial communities in the environments. The constant co-evolution of microbes with plants not only shapes the ecological balance but also determines plants' fitness in a particular environmental condition. The plant-microbe interaction has always been an interesting field of study to decipher unsolved puzzles in these intriguing relationships. Such interactions are of two types, beneficial and harmful interaction. The harmful interaction determines pathogenesis and biotic stress in plants. The beneficial interactions, on the other hand, help plants in nutrient acquisition, nitrogen fixation, and biological control systems against diverse pathogen groups. Although, many studies have been reported demonstrating, biotic stress and beneficial microbes act as plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM) or biological control agents. These two interactions were always studied separately, but in nature both harmful and beneficial microbes interact with the plants synergistically. The in-depth knowledge about the entire interacting microbiome community with plants is necessary to describe this interaction more efficiently. At the same time, knowledge of this balanced interaction would also be useful for future biotechnological and agronomic applications. Recently, many pieces of research have focused on decrypting phyllosphere and rhizosphere microbial communities associated with economically important crop plants to analyze pathovar, core microbiome, and PGPMs. In this view, the present book has been designed to comprehensively accrue contemporary scientific knowledge encompassing all types of plant-microbe interaction for knowledge updation as well as for future agro-biotechnological applications.

In summary, the book is believed to advance our knowledge in the field of plant-microbe interaction, inform practical applications, and contribute to sustainable agriculture, ecosystem conservation, and biotechnological innovations. It addresses the critical need to understand these interactions for the benefit of both plants and the environment.

I would like to thank all the contributing authors for sharing their experiences and enriching the book with their valuable research findings.

My sincere thanks and gratitude are also extended to all the editorial and managerial team of Bentham Science Publishers for their continuous support.