Muhammad Hamayun

Abiotic Stresses and Soybean: Influence of Salinity and Drought on Soybean, Strategies for Alleviating Salt and Drought Stress, and Role of Associated Fungal Endophytes Muhammad Hamayun

Agricultural productivity is subjected to enormous environmental constraints, particularly to salinity and drought. This book includes screening of 69 soybean cultivars for salinity and drought stress. The changes in endogenous phytohormones and pertinent growth attributes of soybean in response to salinity and drought were also examined. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) and other chemicals were investigated for salt and drought stress alleviation on soybean growth, endogenous hormones and germination. Furthermore, the role of endophytic fungi under stressful environmental condition was investigated. Seven endophytic fungi with significant gibberellins production and plant growth promotion capacity were identified. Gibberella fujikuroi was used for comparison purpose. Of these, 6 fungal endophytes belonged to Ascomycetes, while one to Basidiomycetes. These endophytic fungi were identified through molecular techniques, using highly conserved ITS and D1/D2 regions.