Research on beneficial plant-microbe interactions has been one among the hottest areas during past decades, which is evident from increasing number of publications in various journals. This is the field, the outcome of which has direct and very significant role in sustainable agriculture. The specific mutualistic interactions between plant and microbes are not only interesting from the microbial ecology point of view, but also throw light on the communications taking place between two entirely different entities. In recent years, the focus has been on understanding this communication under different environmental conditions and the knowledge generated during this course has been utilized in developing new biotechnological products for plant growth promotion and for biocontrol of plant diseases. Theme of this special issue is current developments that have taken place during the past years on the beneficial plant-microbe interactions. The future challenges in order to fully utilize the benefits of these interactions are also covered. The major thrust areas are:

• Biological nitrogen fixation: Ecology, molecular biology, inoculant production technology for symbiotic bacteria
• Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal plant interactions: Ecology, molecular biology, mass production of inoculum
• Microbes in improving disease suppressiveness of soil: Biochemistry and signalling; Strategies for modulating plant–microbe interaction for disease suppression
• PGPR and their role in plant nutrition and soil fertility
• Plant response toward rhizosphere microorganisms and their mechanisms
• Rhizoremediation & sustainable agriculture

Guest Editor

Dr. M. K. Meghvansi, Ph. D.

Scientist 'C'

Agro-Technology Division

Defence Research Laboratory

Defence R & D Organization (Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India)

Post Bag No 2, Tezpur-784001, Assam, India

Phone: + 91 943 500 6785

Fax: + 91 3712 258534

Email: mk_meghvansi@yahoo.co.in