PGPR FOR SUSTAINABLE RICE CULTIVATION

Abstract

Agriculture shares a sizeable allocation of national income and export incentives in several developing countries while ensuring food security and employment. Because of the global population boom, food demand is expected to rise by 3-5 times in the coming years. Rice is staple to more than half of the world’s population. Globally, plant growth and yield are being hampered by various biotic and abiotic stresses. Among abiotic stresses, soil salinity, wastewater and, heavy metal stress are causing serious threats to agriculture. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are soil bacteria occurring naturally in the plant root system which aid in their development. Plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) have myriad roles based on their long-term stability such as production of secondary metabolites, antagonistic activity and defense mechanisms against heavy metals stress. Hence PGPR help to maintain sustainable plants development and growth. Expansion of agriculture services via an ecologically sound approach is a major challenge in today’s scenario of increasing population. Plant growth promoting bacteria is considered as one of the best plans of action for sustainable agriculture, and an improved mechanism to meet the coupled challenges of global food security and environmental stability. Therefore, in this review we highlight the utilization of plant growth promoting bacteria for the development of a safe biological strategy to obtain sustainable rice productivity.