Plant, Soil and Microbes : Implications in Crop Science

The interactions between the plant, soil and microbes are complex in nature. Events may be antagonistic, mutualistic or synergistic, depending upon the types of microorganisms and their association with the plant and soil in question. Multi-trophic tactics can therefore be employed to nourish plants in various habitats and growth conditions. Understanding the mechanisms of these interactions is thus highly desired in order to utilize the knowledge in an ecofriendly and sustainable way. This holistic approach to crop improvement may not only resolve the upcoming food security issues, but also make the environment greener by reducing the chemical inputs. Plant, soil and microbe, Volume 1: Implications in Crop Science, along with the forthcoming Volume 2: Mechanisms and Molecular Interactions, provide detailed accounts of the exquisite and delicate balance between the three critical components of agronomy. Specifically, these two titles focus on the basis of nutrient exchange between the microorganisms and the host plants, the mechanism of disease protection and the recent molecular details emerged from studying this multi-tropic interaction. Together they aim to provide a solid foundation for the students, teachers, and researchers interested in soil microbiology, plant pathology, ecology and agronomy.

Dr. Khalid Rehman Hakeem (PhD) is working as a Fellow Researcher at the Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia and also a Visiting Professor at Fatih University, Istanbul, Turkey. He has obtained his MSc. (Environmental Botany) as well as PhD (Botany) from Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India in 2006 and 2011 respectively. He has conducted his Post Doctorate in the fields of Forest dynamics and biotechnological studies from Universiti Putra Malaysia from 2012-2013. Dr. Hakeem has more than Nine years of teaching and research experience in Plant Eco-Physiology, Biotechnology & Molecular biology, Plant-Microbe-soil interactions as well as in Environmental sciences. Recipient of several fellowships at both national and international levels, Dr. Hakeem has so far edited and authored more than sixteen books with International publishers. He has also to his credit more than 70 research publications in peer reviewed international journals, including 25 book chapters with foreign publishers. He is also the Editorial board member and reviewer of several high impact international Journals. Dr. Hakeem is currently engaged in studying the plant processes at ecophysiological as well as proteomic levels.

Dr. Mohd. Sayeed Akhtar (PhD) is working as a Fellow Researcher in the Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. He has received his PhD degree from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), India in 2008. He has conducted his postdoctoral research at the Botanical Institute, University of Basel (BIB), Switzerland (2008–2010) and Chonbuk National University (CBNU), Republic of Korea in 2011, respectively, and also worked as Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Jimma university, Jimma, Ethiopia form (2011-2014). Dr. Akhtar has more than twelve years of research and teaching experience in Soil Microbiology, Applied Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Plant Pathology and Plant Nano-biotechnology. Dr. Akhtar has received several prestigious fellowships at national and international levels. His promising approach and dedication stands him in the row of foremost scientist in the field of Plant-Microbe Interaction and Plant Nano-biotechnology. He is an author and co-author of about 45 research articles in peer reviewed journals, contributed 12 book chapters in the books published by Springer-Verlag and also edited 3 books with international publishers. He is serving the scientific community as editorial board member and reviewer of several  high impact international Journals. His current research is focused on the rhizospheric plant-microbe interactions and their molecular biotechnology, bioremediation, biomineralization, nano-fertilizers and Nanobiotechnology.  

Prof. Dr. Siti Nor Akmar Abdullah (PhD)  is currently the Head of the Laboratory of Plantation Crops at the Institute of Tropical Agriculture and a Professor in Plant   Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Her PhD research was mainly conducted at the John Innes Centre in UK. Her current research focuses on the transcriptional regulation of oil and vitamin E biosynthesis, fruit ripening process, plant host-pathogen interaction and nutrient uptake mechanism in oil palm. She has led several research projects at the national level and secured research grants from oil palm industry members. She has published more than 50 papers in citation-indexed journals and also five patents granted in Malaysia and USA particularly on oil palm tissue-specific promoters. Twenty PhD students from Malaysia and other countries have graduated under her as the main or co-supervisor. She has delivered several talks as an invited speaker in various countries like China, India and Indonesia and also served as a reviewer for many international peer-reviewed journals. She has led national and international conferences and workshops on plant biotechnology jointly organised by UPM and Wageningen University and the University of Nottingham. She has established the Arabidopsis thaliana laboratory in MPOB, Malaysia and transgenic greenhouse (certified as Biosafety Level 2) in UPM.