Munees Ahemad

Aligarh Muslim University | AMU · Department of Agricultural Microbiology

Chromium, specifically hexavalent chromium is one of the most toxic pollutants that are released into soils by various anthropogenic activities. It has numerous adverse effects not only on plant system but also on beneficial soil microorganisms which are the indicators of soil fertility and health. Recent emergence of phytoremediation as an environ...

Biologically heavy metals cannot be destroyed but they can be transformed from one oxidation state to another. This might be the reason the remediation of heavy metal contamination in soils is very complicated. So far, methods used for their remediation for example excavation and land fill, thermal treatment, acid leaching and electroreclamation ar...

Aims: Pollution of the environment with toxic heavy metals is spreading throughout the world with industrial progress. Metal pollution in industrial areas is of serious environmental concern as these metals like chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and cupper (Cu) are known to cause damage to living organisms including...

Various industrial, agricultural and military operations have released huge amounts of toxic heavy metals into the environment with deleterious effects on soils, water and air. Under metal stress, soil microorganisms including plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) have developed many strategies to evade the toxicity generated by the various heavy...

Heavy metal pollution of river water has health implications. This study was aimed to test if bacteria that are heavy metal resistant can resist antibiotics. Heavy metal-resistant bacteria were isolated using Nutrient agar plates amended with 100 μg ml−1 of metal salts. Isolates were further screened to determine minimal inhibitory concentration ag...

The Silences of the Archives, the Reknown of the Story. The Martin Guerre affair has been told many times since Jean de Coras and Guillaume Lesueur published their stories in 1561. It is in many ways a perfect intrigue with uncanny resemblance, persuasive deception and a surprizing end when the two Martin stood face to face, memory to memory, befor...

Chromium pollution is increasing incessantly due to continuing industrialization. Of various oxidation states, Cr(6+) is very toxic due to its carcinogenic and mutagenic nature. It also has deleterious effects on different microorganisms as well as on plants. Many species of bacteria thriving in the Cr(6+)-contaminated environments have evolved nov...

Insecticides are commonly used to combat economically important insect pests in agriculture. These plant-protecting agents severely decline crop productivity by affecting different plant growth parameters. The assessment of phytotoxicity of insecticides are generally, confined to one plant species and broad studies concomitantly evaluating the inse...

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria are the soil bacteria inhabiting around/on the root surface and are directly or indirectly involved in promoting plant growth and development via production and secretion of various regulatory chemicals in the vicinity of rhizosphere. Generally, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria facilitate the plant growth di...

Due to exponential expansion of human population and in turn, incessant intensification in industrialization, heavy metal pollution has become ubiquitous from air to deep soil. There are many bioremediation technologies including biosorption process to decontaminate the heavy metal polluted sites. Currently, the exploitation of microbial biosorptio...

Owing to continual industrialization and exploitation of metal-containing agricultural products in current farming practices, environmental pollution is burgeoning with the release of toxic metal species and antibiotic products and concomitantly affecting both soil health and water quality. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine the leve...

Legume-Rhizobium symbiosis is very specific mutualism between rhizobia and the host legumes. This association is the result of interplay of many consecutive molecular interactions between specific legumes and their rhizobial counterparts. Different chemical pesticides, applied in farming practices to protect the legume plants from a range of phyto-...

In modern agronomy, the indiscriminate and ill-advised application of herbicides leads to their accumulation in soils in substantial amounts and deteriorate the soil quality and fertility and in turn, the crop productivity. Earlier studies regarding the effect of herbicides were generally, restricted to a particular legume and studies about the con...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of selected herbicides (quizalafop-p-ethyl, clodinafop, metribuzin and glyphosate) at one, two and three times the recommended field rates on the plant-growth-promoting (PGP) traits of Pseudomonas putida strain PS9 isolated from the mustard rhizosphere. P. putida strain PS9 was selected for its high...

This study was designed to explore beneficial plant-associated rhizobacteria exhibiting substantial tolerance against fungicide tebuconazole vis-à-vis synthesizing plant growth regulators under fungicide stressed soils and to evaluate further these multifaceted rhizobacteria for protection and growth promotion of greengram [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilcz...

This study was planned to assess the impact of pesticides [herbicides (metribuzin and glyphosate), insecticides (imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) and fungicides (hexaconazole, metalaxyl and kitazin)] at the recommended and the higher dose rates on plant growth promoting (PGP) traits of Rhizobium sp. strain MRP1 isolated from pea-nodules. Strain MRP1...

Intensification in industrialization, agricultural practices and various anthropogenic activities add a significant amount of metals in the soils. The continuous magnification in metal concentrations in soil ecosystem beyond the threshold limit leads to the deleterious effect on the microbial communities and their functional activities in soils. So...

The aim of this study was to investigate the side-effects of fungicides on the physiological activities of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria with intrinsic phosphate-solubilizing potential. The fungicide-tolerant and phosphate-solubilizing bacterial strain PS19 was isolated from the mustard rhizosphere and identified as Klebsiella sp. following...

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of selected pesticides [herbicides (metribuzin and glyphosate), insecticides (imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) and fungicides (hexaconazole, metalaxyl and kitazin)] at recommended and higher dose rates on plant growth promoting activities of the Mesorhizobium sp. isolated from chickpea-nodules. A t...

In this study, a total of 50 rhizobial isolates were recovered from the root nodules of greengram plants. Of the 50 isolates, 9 bradyrhizobial strains namely, MRM1, MRM2, MRM3, MRM4, MRM5, MRM6, MRM7, MRM8, and MRM9, exhibiting a higher tolerance levels of 600, 800, 1,200, 1,000, 1,000, 1,600, 1,400, 1,400, and 1,000 μg ml−1, respectively, to triaz...

The present study was conducted to determine the plant growth-promoting activities of Bradyrhizobium sp. (vigna) strain MRM6 grown in the presence and absence of the selected herbicides, quizalafop-p-ethyl and clodinafop. The herbicide tolerant Bradyrhizobium sp. (vigna) strain MRM6 was further tested for bioremediation and plant growth promoting p...

This study was navigated to examine the effects of fungicide-stress on the activities of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterium Pseudomonasputida with inherent phosphate solubilizing activity. The fungicide-tolerant and phosphate solubilizing P.putida strain PS9 was isolated from the mustard rhizosphere and tentatively identified following standard...

This study was designed to identify rhizobial strains specific to greengram expressing higher tolerance against insecticides, fipronil and pyriproxyfen, and synthesizing plant growth regulators even amid insecticide-stress. Of the 50 bradyrhizobial isolates, the Bradyrhizobium sp. strain MRM6 showed tolerance up to 1,600μgmL−1 against each of fipro...

The goal of this study was to identify lentil-specific rhizobial strains with the ability to tolerate fungicide and synthesize plant growth regulators even in soils contaminated with fungicides. A fungicide-tolerant and plant-growth-promoting rhizobial strain was used to assess its impact on lentil grown in fungicide-treated soils. The tebuconazole...

The study was designed to assess the effect of selected pesticides (metribuzin, glyphosate, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, hexaconazole, metalaxyl and kitazin) at the recommended and higher rates on plant growth promoting activities of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PS1 isolated from mustard (Brassica compestris) rhizosphere. The strain PS1 was specifi...

Seed dressing with fungicides adversely affects the structure and function of beneficial soil microbial communities and consequently crop yield. This study was aimed to evaluate the impact of technical-grade fungicide tebuconazole on plant growth promoting potentials of tebuconazole-tolerant Rhizobium isolate MRP1. The performance of the isolate MR...

In agricultural operations, fungicides are used to protect the crop plants from fungal pathogens. An indiscriminate and injudicious application of fungicides leads to their accumulation in upper soil layers of agricultural fields and exerts damaging impact on soil fertility as well as the crop productivity. The present study was therefore, navigate...

In modern agronomy, insecticides of the diverse chemical families are repeatedly used to control various plant growth limiting insect pests and to improve plant productivity. However, the intensive application of these plant protecting agrochemicals results in their accumulation in soils in substantial concentration and deteriorates the soil fertil...

Phosphorus [P] is a major element and performs vital functions for sustenance, growth and development of plants. It is involved in several key plant functions, including energy transfer, photosynthesis, transformation of sugars and starches, nutrient movement within the plant and transfer of genetic characteristics from one generation to the next....

Application of insecticides in modern agriculture in order to enhance legume production has led to their accumulation in soils to levels that adversely affect soil microflora such as rhizobia and exert a negative impact on the physiological activities associated with them. This study was therefore designed to identify rhizobial strains expressing h...

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are known to increase growth and vigor of legumes in conventional cropping systems. Considering this as a basis, this study was aimed at identifying phosphate-solubilizing (PS) rhizobacterial strains expressing higher tolerance to insecticides, fipronil and pyriproxyfen, and synthesizing plant growth regu...

Numerous bacterial species inhabiting rhizosphere are known to exert beneficial effects upon plant growth. Such bacteria facilitating plant growth are generally referred to as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria. To exert their beneficial effects, rhizobacteria generally must colonize the root surface efficiently. This review therefore, commences...

Modern application of insecticides belonging to different chemical families to boost agricultural productivity has led to their accumulation in soils to levels that affect, directly and indirectly, soil enzyme activities and physiol-ogical characteristics of nontarget soil microflora including plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, and, consequently...

This study examines the effect of four herbicides, quizalafop-p-ethyl, clodinafop, metribuzin and glyphosate, on plant growth promoting activities like phosphate solubilization, siderophores, indole acetic acid, exo-polysaccharides, hydrogen cyanide and ammonia production by herbicide tolerant Klebsiella sp. strain PS19. The strain was isolated fro...

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of the selected pesticides [herbicides (metribuzin and glyphosate), insecticides (imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) and fungicides (hexaconazole, metalaxyl and kitazin)] at the recommended and the higher dose rates on plant growth promoting traits of Rhizobium sp. strain MRL3 isolated from lentil-nodules....

The aim of this study was to investigate the toxicity of herbicides (metribuzin and glyphosate), insecticides (imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) and fungicides (hexaconazole, metalaxyl and kitazin) at the recommended and the higher dose rates on plant growth promoting activities of Bradyrhizobium sp. under in vitro conditions. The Bradyrhizobium sp. s...

This study was designed to recover lentil-specific rhizobial strains tolerant to herbicides (quizalafop-p-ethyl and clodinafop) and synthesizing plant growth regulators even in the presence of herbicide stress. Furthermore, the impact of rhizobial strain was assessed on lentil plants grown in herbicide-treated soils. Quizalafop-p-ethyl- and clodina...

An experiment was carried out to determine the plant growth-promoting activities of fipronil- and pyriproxyfen-tolerant Mesorhizobium isolates in the presence and absence of insecticides. The bioremediation and plant growth-promoting potentials of Mesorhizobium isolate (MRC4) was assessed using chickpea as a test crop grown under fipronil- and pyri...

The present study was conducted to assess the plant growth promoting activities of Mesorhizobium sp. in the presence of technical grade herbicides and its ameliorating effects on herbicide toxicity to chickpea grown in herbicide treated soils. The quizalafop-p-ethyl and clodinafop-tolerant Mesorhizobium isolate MRC4 recovered from the nodules of ch...

This study examines the effect of four herbicides, quizalafop-p-ethyl, clodinafop, metribuzin and glyphosate, on plant growth promoting activities, like, phosphate solubilization, siderophores, indole acetic acid, exo-polysaccharides, hydrogen cyanide and ammonia production by herbicide tolerant Enterobacter asburiae strain PS2 isolated from mustar...

Microbial communities inhabiting soil or rhizosphere play important roles in growth and development of plants. Of these, phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) play fundamental roles in biogeochemical phosphorus cycling in agro-ecosystems. Phosphate-solubilizing microbes transform the insoluble phosphorus to soluble forms by acidification, chelation...

Laboratory and field/pot experiments were conducted to determine the effect of two insecticides, fipronil and pyriproxyfen, on growth, symbiotic properties (nodulation and leghaemoglobin content), amount of N and P nutrients in plant organs, seed yield and seed protein of pea plants. In addition, the role of the most promising fipronil and pyriprox...

Phosphorus is abundant in soils in both organic and inorganic forms; nevertheless, it is unavailable to plants. Accordingly, soil becomes phosphorus (P)-deficient, making P one of the most important nutrient elements limiting crop productivity. To circumvent the P deficiency, phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms could play an important role in mak...

Four fungicides, tebuconazole, hexaconazole, metalaxyl and kitazin were applied at recommended and higher rates to examine their effects on the plant growth promoting activities of the fungicide tolerant Enterobacter asburiae strain PS2 under in vitro conditions. Enterobacter asburiae strain PS2 was isolated from the mustard rhizosphere and was ass...

Although, phosphorus is abundant in soils in both organic and inorganic forms, it is frequently a major or even the prime limiting factor for plant growth. The bioavailability of soil inorganic P in the rhizosphere varies considerably with plant species, nutritional status of soil and ambient soil conditions. To overcome the P deficiency, phosphate...

The quizalafop-p-ethyl- and clodinafop-tolerant phosphate-solubilizing and plant-growth-promoting Pseudomonas aeruginosa PS1 isolated from the rhizospheric soils of mustard was used to determine its phosphate-solubilizing activity and other plant-growth-promoting traits both in the presence and absence of technical grade quizalafop-p-ethyl and clod...

Most agronomic soils contain large reserves of total phosphorus [P], but the fixation and precipitation of P cause P deficiency, and in turn, restrict the growth of crops severely. Phosphorus replenishment, especially in sustainable production systems, remains a major challenge as it is mainly fertilizer-dependent. Though the use of chemical P fert...

Most soils contain large reserves of total phosphorus (P), but its fixation and precipitation with soil constituents cause a major P-deficiency and severely restrict the growth and yield of plants. The use of chemical P-fertilizers is obviously the best means to circumvent P-deficiency, but their use is always limited due to its spiraling cost. In...

Soil microbial communities play an important role in supplying essential nutrients to plants by decomposing various organic matters. Composition, structure and functions of microbial communities in soil are, however, under the constant control of the environment including various agricultural management practices. Due to scarcity of convenient meth...

Root-colonizing bacteria (rhizobacteria) that exert beneficial effects on plant development via direct or indirect mechanisms have been defined as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). These natural bioresources provide essential nutrients to plants and improve growth, competitiveness, and responses to external stress factors by an array of...

Phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms commonly represents a group of soil microorganisms that forms an important component of phosphorus cycle and release P by solubilizing insoluble phosphorus or by mineralizing organic phosphorus. They predominate in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere area of different crops and vary greatly in number, diversity...

In modern conventional agriculture, herbicides are frequently used to prevent yield losses due to weeds. Herbicides also affect negatively the productivity of legumes. With these considerations, we evaluated the effects of soil applications of different concentrations of quizalafop-p-ethyl and clodinafop on the performance of Rhizobium inoculated p...

Among the various contaminants, heavy metals, discharged from metal processing industries are known to have profound adverse effects on microbial diversity, soil fertility and yields of various agronomic crops. As a result of these notorious activities, heavy metals pollution has attracted greater attention worldwide. Conventional methods for remov...