Microbial Technology for Agro-Ecosystems: Crop Productivity, Sustainability, and Biofortification describes the application of competent microbes in plant growth promotion, nutrient management and recycling from molecular perspectives. Understanding of molecular mechanism of Microbial diversity in association with plant roots is very imperative for plant health and ecosystem equilibrium.

The book discusses the complex interactions between plants and their associated microbial communities. It also elucidates the ways in which these microbiomes are connected with the plant system, and how they affect plant health. The different chapters describe how microbiomes affect plants with regard to immunity, disease conditions, stress management and productivity. In addition, the book describes how an 'additional plant genome' functions as a whole organ system of the host, and how it presents both challenges and opportunities for the plant system. Moreover, the book includes a dedicated section on using omics tools to understand these interactions, and on exploiting them to their full potential.

With the recent shift of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to organic agriculture, the employment of microbes that perform significant beneficial functions for plants has been highlighted. This book presents timely discussion and coverage on the use of microbial formulations, which range from powdered or charcoal-based to solution and secondary metabolite-based bioformulations. Bioformulation development of biofertilizers and biopesticides coupled with the advantages of nanobiotechnology propose significant applications in the agricultural section including nanobiosensors, nanoherbicides, and smart transport systems for the regulated release of agrochemical. Moreover, the formulation of secondary metabolites against individual phytopathogens could be used irrespective of geographical positions with higher disease incidences. The prospective advantages and uses of nanobiotechnology generate tremendous interest, as it could augment production of agricultural produce while being cost-effective both energetically and economically. This bioformulation approach is incomparable to existing technology, as the bioformulation would explicitly target the particular pathogen without harming the natural microbiome of the ecosystem. Nanobiotechnology in Bioformulations covers the constraints associated with large-scale development and commercialization of bioinoculant formations. Furthermore, exclusive emphasis is be placed on next-generation efficient bioinoculants having secondary metabolite formulations with longer shelf life and advanced competence against several phytopathogens. Valuable chapters deal with bioformulation strategies that use divergent groups of the microbiome and include detailed diagrammatic and pictorial representation. This book will be highly beneficial for both experts and novices in the fields of microbial bioformulation, nanotechnology, and nano-microbiotechnology. It discusses the prevailing status and applications available for microbial researchers and scientists, agronomists, students, environmentalists, agriculturists, and agribusiness professionals, as well as to anyone devoted to sustaining the ecosystem.

Fungal nanobionics has great prospects for developing new products with industrial, agriculture, medicine and consumer applications in a wide range of sectors. The fields of chemical engineering, agri-food, biochemical, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and medical device development all employ fungal products, with fungal nanomaterials currently used in a wide range of applications, ranging from drug development to food industry and agricultural sector. The fungal agents emerge as an environmentally friendly, clean, non-toxic agent for the biogenic metal nanoparticles and employs both intracellular and extracellular methods. The simplicity of scaling up and downstream processing and the presence of fungal mycelia affording an increased surface area provide key advantages. In addition, the larger spectrum of synthesized nanoparticle morphologies and the substantially faster biosynthesis rate in cell-free filtrate (due to the higher amount of proteins secreted in fungi) make this a particularly enticing route. Understanding the diversity of fungi in assorted ecosystems, as well as their interactions with other microorganisms, animals and plants, is essential to underpin real and innovative technological developments and the applications of metal nanoparticles in many disciplines including agriculture, catalysis, and biomedical biosensors. Importantly, biogenic fungal nanoparticles show significant synergistic characteristics when combined with antibiotics and fungicides to offer substantially greater resistance to microbial growth and applications in nanomedicine ranging from topical ointments and bandages for wound healing to coated stents.

This book explores the role of in silico deployment in connection with modulation techniques for improving sustainability and competitiveness in the agri-food sector; pharmacokinetics and molecular docking studies of plant-derived natural compounds; and their potential anti-neurodegenerative activity. It also investigates biochemical pathways for bacterial metabolite synthesis, fungal diversity and plant-fungi interaction in plant diseases, methods for predicting disease-resistant candidate genes in plants, and genes-to-metabolites and metabolites-to-genes approaches for predicting biosynthetic pathways in microbes for natural product discovery. The respective chapters elaborate on the use of in situ methods to study biochemical pathways for bacterial metabolite synthesis; tools for plant metabolites in defence; plant secondary metabolites in defence; plant growth metabolites; characterisation of plant metabolites; and identification of plant derived metabolites in the context of plant defence. The book offers an unprecedented resource, highlighting state-of-the-art research work that will greatly benefit researchers and students alike, not only in the field of agriculture but also in many disciplines in the life sciences and plant sciences.

This book discusses the role of salt in current agricultural approaches, including the low salt tolerance of agricultural crops and trees, impact of saline soils, and salt-resistant plants. Halophytes are extremely salt tolerant plants, which are able to grow and survive under salt at concentrations as high as 5 g/l by maintaining negative water potential. The salt-tolerant microbes inhabiting the rhizospheres of halophytes may contribute to their salt tolerance, and the rhizospheres of halophytic plants provide an ideal opportunity for isolating various groups of salt-tolerant microbes that could enhance the growth of different crops under salinity stress. The book offers an overview of salt-tolerant microbes' ability to increase plant tolerance to salt to facilitate plant growth, the potential of the halophytes' rhizospheres as a reservoir of beneficial salt-tolerant microbes, their future application as bio-inoculants in agriculture and a valuable resource for an alternative way of improving crop tolerance to salinity and promoting saline soil-based agriculture. This special collection of reviews highlights some of the recent advances in applied aspects of plant (halophytes)-microbe interactions and their contribution towards eco-friendly approaches saline soil-based agriculture.

This book describes the vast variety of xenobiotics, such as pesticides, antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, agrochemicals and other pollutants, their interactions with the soil environment, and the currently available strategies and techniques for soil decontamination and bioremediation. Topics covered include: transport mechanisms of pollutants along the Himalayas; use of earthworms in biomonitoring; metagenomic strategies for assessing contaminated sites; xenobiotics in the food chain; phyto-chemical remediation; biodegradation by fungi; and the use of enzymes and potential microbes in biotransformation. Accordingly, the book offers a valuable guide for scientists in the fields of environmental ecology, soil and food sciences, agriculture, and applied microbiology.

With the ever-increasing usage of distance learning programs in academia, the need for well-designed automated systems has become vital to the success of open and distance education. Practical solutions should be discovered and disseminated to meet the software needs of instructors, academic researchers, and software engineers.System and Technology Advancements in Distance Learning meets this need, outlining computational methods, algorithms, implemented prototype systems, and applications of open and distance learning. It is targeted toward academic researchers and engineers who work with distance learning programs and software systems, as well as general participants of distance education.

The book features original papers from the 2nd International Conference on Smart IoT Systems: Innovations and Computing (SSIC 2019), presenting scientific work related to smart solution concepts. It discusses computational collective intelligence, which includes interactions between smart devices, smart environments and smart interactions, as well as information technology support for such areas. It also describes how to successfully approach various government organizations for funding for business and the humanitarian technology development projects. Thanks to the high-quality content and the broad range of the topics covered, the book appeals to researchers pursuing advanced studies.

This book addresses "phyto-microbiome mediated stress regulation". Fundamentally speaking, the microbial community's importance for the survival of plants under stress conditions has already been confirmed. This book focuses on the roles of those rhizospheric microbiomes that are advantageous to plant developmental pathways. Gathering contributions by authors with specialized expertise in plant growth and health under stress conditions, as well as opportunistic pathogenic bacteria, the book reviews the functional aspects of rhizospheric microorganisms and how they impact plant health and disease. It offers a compendium of plant and microbial interactions at the level of multitrophic interactions, and identifies gaps between future demand and present research on plant stress. In closing, the authors highlight several directions for reshaping rhizosphere microbiomes in favor of microorganisms that are beneficial to plant growth and health.

This book focuses on the application of microorganisms in various aspects of life such as plant protection and improvement, environmental remediation, and the improvement of plant & human health. Various applications of microorganisms are examined in depth, e.g. applied microbiology in agriculture, microbes in the environment, the development of new microbial enzymes, and microbes in human health. In turn, the book shares insights into the diverse microorganisms that have been explored and exploited in the development of various applications for agricultural improvements. It also discusses the detection and exploitation of microorganisms in the diagnosis of human diseases, which offer potential holistic approaches to health. Presenting the latest information and findings on the applications of microbial biotechnology, the book offers a valuable resource.

Special functions are mathematical functions that have established names and notations due to their importance in mathematical analysis, functional analysis, geometry, physics, or other applications. This short text gives clear descriptions and explanations of the Gamma function, the Probability Integral and its related functions, Spherical Harmonics Theory, The Bessel function, Hermite polynomials and Laguerre polynomials. Each chapter finishes with a description of how the function is most commonly applied and a set of examples for the student to work through.

The book discusses ways to overcome the side effects of using hydrocarbon-based products as energy sources. Hydrocarbons produce raw crude oil waste of around 600,000 metric tons per annum, with a range of uncertainty of 200,000 metric tons per year. The various chapters in this book focus on approaches to reduce these wastes through the application of potential microbes, in a process called bioremediation. The book is a one-stop reference resource on the methods, mechanisms and application of the bio-composites, in the laboratory and field. Focusing on resolving a very pressing environmental issue, it not only provides details of existing challenges, but also offers deeper insights into the possibility of solving problems using hydrocarbon bioremediation.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of plant stresses caused by salt, drought, extreme temperatures, oxygen and toxic compounds, which are responsible for huge losses in crop yields. It discusses the latest research on the impact of salinity and global environment changes, and examines the advances in the identification and characterization of the mechanisms that allow plants to tolerate biotic and abiotic stresses. Further it presents our current understanding of metabolic fluxes and the various transporters that collectively open the possibility of applying in vitro technology and genetic engineering to improve stress tolerance. Exploring advanced methods that augment traditional plant tissue culture and breeding techniques toward the development of new crop varieties that can tolerate biotic and abiotic stresses to achieve sustainable food production, this book is a valuable resource for plant scientists and researchers.