Associative and Endophytic Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria and Cyanobacterial Associations (Hardcover, 2007 ed.)

This book is the self-contained fifth volume of a comprehensive seven-volume series covering both fundamental and applied aspects of nitrogen-fixation research since the 19th century. It addresses the issues arising from bacterial colonization of either the plant-root surface or other tissues as well as their modes of doing so. These associations are less formalized than the rhizobia-legume symbiosis but, as more and more of them are discovered, their myriad of effects on their plant hosts is becoming understood. Among the effects, in addition to often providing fixed nitrogen, plant growth can be promoted and plant diseases controlled. An understanding at the molecular level of the mechanisms by which these bacteria benefit crop productivity is an important issue in agriculture. This book describes the milestones in the discovery of the associative and endophytic nitrogen-fixing bacteria found intimately involved with cereal crops, forage grasses, and sugar cane.