This book focuses on the application of microbes in all fields of biology. There is an urgent need to understand and explore new microbes, their biological activities, genetic makeup and further opportunities for utilizing them. The book is divided into sections, highlighting the application of microbes in agriculture, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, bioremediation, industry, medicine and forensic sciences, and describing potential future advances in these fields. It also explores the potential role of microbes in space and how they might support life on a different planet.

The study is about the widespread diseases of Gladiolus, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. gladioli. It was revealed that the Fusarium corm rot and yellows disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. gladioli severely affected the standing crop and corms of gladiolus during storage. The disease intensity varied from 10 to 40% in the field and 15 to 40% in the store houses. Therefore, the present study was under taken with a view to investigate various aspects of the diseases in field and postharvest storage and its effective and eco-friendly management by using hot water, UV-C, essential oil of Hyptis suaveolens, solarization of soil and fumigation of soil with essential oil. Integrated approach of all these control methods was utilized to control post-harvest Fusarium corm rot of gladiolus and Fusarium wilt and yellows in the fields. Various control methods have been assessed during the study and interestingly the present study confirmed that essential oil from H. suaveolens inhibiting the growth of F.oxysporum f. sp. gladioli leading to irreversible deleterious morphological alterations and thus it is worth exploiting for the Eco-friendly management of the disease.