Abstract:
Phytohormones (PHs) play crucial role in regulation of various physiological and
biochemical processes that govern plant growth and yield under optimal and stress
conditions. The interaction of these PHs is crucial for plant survival under stressful
environments as they trigger signaling pathways. Hormonal cross regulation initiate a
cascade of reactions which finely tune the physiological processes in plant architecture
that help plant to grow under suboptimal growth conditions. Recently, various studies
have highlighted the role of PHs such as abscisic acid, salicylic acid, ethylene, and
jasmonates in the plant responses toward environmental stresses. The involvement
of cytokinins, gibberellins, auxin, and relatively novel PHs such as strigolactones and
brassinosteroids in plant growth and development has been documented under normal
and stress conditions. The recent identification of the first plant melatonin receptor
opened the door to this regulatory molecule being considered a new plant hormone.
However, polyamines, which are not considered PHs, have been included in thischapter. Various microbes produce and secrete hormones which helped the plants in
nutrient uptake such as N, P, and Fe. Exogenous use of such microbes help plants in
correcting nutrient deficiency under abiotic stresses. This chapter focused on the recent
developments in the knowledge related to PHs and their involvement in abiotic stresses
of anticipation, signaling, cross-talk, and activation of response mechanisms. In view of
role of hormones and capability of microbes in producing hormones, we propose the use
of hormones and microbes as potential strategy for crop stress management.
