Sustainability in agriculture, forestry, and range of management requires balanced functional microbial ecosystems. The association of plant roots with AM fungi is a key factor in the below ground network essential to ecosystem function. The association of AM fungi creates and intimate link between plant and the soil and plays a significant role in the absorption of mineral nutrients. The ability of the association to enhance the plant growth and development has stimulated research, and the recent applications of molecular, biochemical, genetic approaches are providing new insight into symbiosis. 90% of the flowering plants show symbiotic relationship with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Improved growth, health and stress resistance of mycorrhizal plants are well established, particularly for the plants growing in nutrients limiting condition. In contrast to the 'gene for gene' specificity observed in many plant-pathogen interactions, the AM fungal symbiosis is essentially non-specific, and a single species of AM fungus has the capacity to colonize many plant species although extensive colonization of root cortex occurs. They help the plants to acquire mineral nutrients from soil especially the immobile elements such as P, Zn, Cu but also mobile ions such as S, Ca, K, Fe, Mg, Mn, Cl, Br and N.
The present book brought out most of the recent work which is being carried out in various research institutes in all over the world. This book is not only useful for plant scientist, it is most useful for agricultural, microbiology, horticulture and forest nurseries. It contains different chapters divided into three groups. A. Growth response and improvement of plant growth, yield and biomass production containing 12 chapters. B. Interaction between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and other beneficial micro-organisms containing 9 chapters. C. Mycorrhizal technology in adverse environment containing 8 chapters.
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