Plant Growth-Promoting Potentials of Endophytic Fungi for the Management of Agricultural Crops and Grasses

Abstract

This chapter features the impetus to study endophytic fungi (EF) in order to invigorate the economic feasibility in agriculture production. EF occupy a dominant place in the habitat adaptation of plants leveraging better yields and protection from biotic as well as abiotic stresses. They secrete several secondary metabolites of organic nature, which, besides safeguarding plants from pathogens and pests, also valorize agricultural plants like rice and corn, and offer better postharvest management. It is emphasized that the methods currently employed in plant breeding, seed preparation, and agricultural practices are hindering the diversity of fungal endophytes due to the inadequate knowledge about them. Besides, they also make some endophytes to perform ineffectively in mitigating stresses. The objective of this chapter is to suggest how to overcome such impediments for the advancement of future agriculture practices. IntroductionThe term endophytic microorganisms include bacteria, fungi, and algae, which colonize within the internal structure of host plants without causing symptoms (Behie and Bidochka 2014;Schulz and Boyle 2005). Many recently published reports have outlined endophytic fungi (EF) and their biotechnological potentials. The analysis of EF in different climatic and geographic zones indicates that they are ubiquitous in internal plant tissues and diverse in nature (Ghimire et al. 2011;Li et al.