Unravelling the Roles of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) in Growth Promotion, Phytoremediation and as Biocontrol Agents to Suppress Plant Diseases

Abstract

Agriculture in the twenty-first century has several issues, including soil fertility, climate changes, environmental degradation, urbanisation & rising food consumption to feed the world's growing population. Meanwhile, scientists are grappling with major obstacles in expanding food yield from the present land base. Traditional farming has seen increased per-acre crop yields due to the haphazard and injudicious use of agrochemicals, such as pesticides and synthetic fertilisers, but at a significant environmental cost. Crop pests developing pesticide resistance is another big worry in modern agriculture. Therefore, alternative ecologically friendly crop yield-increasing techniques are necessary for the future of sustainable crop production. Scientists are very interested in utility of rhizobacteria, particularly PGPR, as an alternative to pesticides. These rhizobacteria employ a range of tactics to encourage plant growth, thwart plant pests, and foster resilience to abiotic stresses. The mechanisms of rhizobacteria involved in soil bioremediation, pest biocontrol, and plant growth promotion are reviewed in this article. It also looks at how PGPR vaccination affects plant growth and survival in challenging conditions. An in-depth examination is also given of the benefits and drawbacks of rhizobacterial application as well as potential solutions for rhizobacteria's long-term use in agriculture.