The microbial genera, both cultivable and uncultivable, associated with the host plant inhabiting in or on different tissues or organ and the environment surrounding the plant body are unique and comprise the plant-associated microbiome (PAM). The PAM profile of the host plant gets altered in response to certain biotic and abiotic stresses and the anthropogenic interventions. Therefore, identification of key groups or genera of the microbes among the whole PAM is critical as these microbes, besides themselves, can modulate several other microbial communities, leading to considerable positive or negative changes in the community structure, abundance, and the overall microbial diversity. This manuscript explores the alterations in PAM particularly in response to the agri-management practices and its role in enhancing growth, vigor, and yield in host crop plants. Further, the precise role of a specific group of PAM, the soil organic matter decomposers, has been discussed with special reference to agri-waste generated by cereal crop cultivation. The practical applications of the PAM studies for improvement in the agricultural sustainability through optimization of the plant microbiome have also been discussed.
IntroductionThe soil microbial communities and their role in ecosystem regulation including waste decomposition, nutrient cycling, transformation, and availability are crucial for crop production (Hartman et al. 2018). These soil-dwelling organisms including the microbes and higher organisms do not exist in isolation rather are interwoven in