Biofertilizers for Sustainable Soil Management

The alkaline calcareous nature, high pH, salinity, heavy metals pollution, and low organic matter content of soils in many parts of the world have diminished the soil fertility and made essential nutrients unavailable to crops. To cope with the poor availability of soil nutrients, improve soil health, and feed the fast-growing global population, the farming community is using millions of tons of expensive chemical fertilizers in their fields to maintain an adequate level of nutrients for crop sustainability as well as to ensure food security. In this scenario, the exploitation of biofertilizers has become of paramount importance in the agricultural sector for their potential role in food safety and sustainable crop production. Bearing in mind the key importance of biofertilizers, this book examines the role of biofertilizers in sustainable management of soil and plant health under different conditions of the changing climate. Finally, it provides a platform for scientists and academicians all over the world to promote, share, and discuss various new issues, developments, and limitations in biofertilizers, crops, and beneficial microbes.

Salient Features:

• Mainly focuses on the role of biofertilizers in managing soils for improving crop and vegetable yields as a substitute for chemical fertilizers.
• Highlights the valuable information for the mechanism of action, factors affecting, and limitations of biofertilizers in the wider ecosystem.
• Presents a diversity of techniques used across plant science.
• Designed to cater to the needs of researchers, technologists, policy makers, and undergraduates and postgraduates studying in the fields of organic agriculture, soil microbiology, soil biology, soil fertility, and fertilizers.
• Addresses plant responses to biofertilizers.

Dr Shah Fahad is working as Assistant Professor in the Department of Agronomy, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. He obtained his PhD in Agronomy from Huazhong Agriculture University, China, in 2015. After doing his postdoctoral research in Agronomy at the Huazhong Agriculture University (2015-17), he accepted the position of Assistant Professor at the University of Haripur. He has published over 430 peer-reviewed papers (Impact factor 1834.76) with more than 370 research and 60 review articles, on important aspects of climate change, plant physiology and breeding, plant nutrition, plant stress responses and tolerance mechanisms, and exogenous chemical priming-induced abiotic stress tolerance. He has also contributed 80 book chapters to various book editions published by Springer, Wiley-Blackwell, and Elsevier. He has edited seventeen book volumes, including this one, published by CRC press, Springer, and Intech Open. He won Young Rice International Scientist award and distinguish scholar award in 2014 and 2015 respectively. He won 17 projects from international and national donor agencies. Dr Shah Fahad figured in the Clarivate's 2021and 2022 lists of Highly Cited Researchers in the field of Plant and Agriculture sciences. His name included among the top two percent scientists in a global list compiled by the Stanford University, USA. He has worked and is presently continuing on a wide range of topics, including climate change, greenhouse emission gasses, abiotic stresses tolerance, roles of phytohormones and their interactions in abiotic stress responses, heavy metals, regulation of nutrient transport processes.

Dr. Shah Saud received his Ph.D. and Post Doctorate in Turf grasses (Horticulture) from Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China. He is currently working as Assistant Professor in College of Life Science, Linyi University, China. Dr. Shah Saud has published over 200 research publications in peer-reviewed journals. He has edited 6 books and written 40 book chapters on important aspects of plant physiology, plant stress responses, and environmental problems in relation to agricultural plants. According to Scopus®, Dr. Shah Saud's publications have received roughly 8566 citations with an h-index of 44.

Dr. Fazli Wahid has completed PhD in the field of Soil microbiology and plant nutrition from the The University of Agriculture Peshawar and University of Natural resources and life Sciences Vienna Austria. He has also completed his postdoc from Nigde University Turkey in plant nutrition. Currently, he is working as Assistant Professor in the department of Agriculuture, University of Swabi. His research work is mainly focus on the isolation, purification of beneficial microbes and production of biofertilizers for improving soil and plant health. He has isolated several bacterial strains for solubilization of P from rock phosphate in high pH soils. He has published 70 research articles in well reputed journals with 10 book chapters while his 2 books are in progress as editor. He is also working as a potential reviewer for chemosphere and pedospher as well. He has won one international and 2 national research projects and organized several international and national conferences and seminars at The University of Swabi.

Dr. Muhammad Adnan is a lecturer in the Department of Agriculture at the University of Swabi (UOS), Pakistan. He has completed his PhD (soil fertility and microbiology) from the Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences (SES) the University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan and Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, USA. He has received his MSc and BSc (Hons) in Soil and Environmental Sciences, from Department of SES the University of Agriculture, Peshawar-Pakistan.