Plant–Microbe Dynamics as a Nature-Based Solution for Sustainable Agriculture

The impact of land use changes, soil nutrient deterioration, indiscriminate use of agrochemicals, unpredictable weathers and global climate change with regard to agriculture productivity and food security is most challenging issues confronting mankind today worldwide. Abiotic and biotic ecological environmental drivers, such as soil salinity, drought, floods, soil pollutions, pathogens, insects and other annoying calamities, collectively affect agriculture production and environmental sustainability globally. Therefore, harnessing the plant–microbe interactions as a nature-based solution (NbS) could be a viable option for addressing agriculture sustainability for future generations. The soil rhizospheric microbiomes in association with crop plants can accelerate the plant growth and may enhance their resistance to various abiotic and biotic environmental drivers by producing bioactive plant growth promoting substances. Agriculturally important soil microflora can influence both the efficiency of nutrient availability to crop plants and they also regulate the interactions between plants and other harmful pathogens. Such interactions among plants and microbes may be beneficial to influence the physicochemical and microbiological properties of soils. Hence, it is important to recognize the best soil–plant microbiome dynamics-based management practices to attain a more sustainable and green agriculture for future food demand and security. This review describes the role of soil–plant microbiome dynamics as NbS and next-generation microbiome engineering in sustainable management of stress agriculture and global crop productivity.