Abstract

Drought stress poses a significant threat to global agricultural productivity, necessitating innovative strategies to mitigate its adverse effects on crop yields. There is rising interest in employing stress-resilient PGPR (Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria) as microbial biostimulants to bolster crop productivity in drought-affected agro ecosystems. Leveraging the bioactivity of biostimulants derived from Exopolysaccharides Producing Rhizobacteria (EPR) offer promising avenues for sustainable agriculture in water-limited environments. These biostimulants act as multifunctional agents, facilitating water uptake, improving soil structure, and promoting nutrient absorption, thereby mitigating the detrimental effects of drought stress on crop growth and productivity. These EPR establish symbiotic interactions with plants, augmenting the plant's adaptive responses to water scarcity by modulating hormone levels, and activating stress-responsive pathways. Moreover, the development of comprehensive production strategies that integrate techniques to mitigate the impacts of drought is imperative to ensure a sustainable and reliable food supply. EPR emerges as a promising strategy for addressing the challenges posed by drought stress in agriculture. These biostimulants offer sustainable solutions to enhance crop resilience, secure food security, and promote environmental sustainability amidst climate change-induced water scarcity.