The need to produce food in a sustainable way to counteract the effects of excessive use of agrochemicals opens the door to the generation of new technologies that are not based on fossil fuels and are less toxic to ecosystems. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) could represent an alternative to chemical biofertilizers and pesticides offering protection for biotic and abiotic stresses. In this work, a bacterial isolate from roots of castor bean (Ricinus communis) was identified and named as Bacillus cereus strain “Amazcala” (B.c-A). This isolate displayed the ability to solubilize inorganic phosphate and produce gibberellic acid (GA3). Moreover, this bacterium provided significant increases in height, stem width, dry weight, and total chlorophyll content in tomato plants. Interestingly, B.c-A also significantly decreased the severity of bacterial canker disease on tomato caused by Clavibacter michiganensis (Cmm) in preventive disease assays under greenhouse conditions. Based on our results, B.c-A can be considered as PGPB and a useful tool in Cmm disease control on tomato plant under greenhouse conditions.

Precision agriculture has the objective of improving agricultural yields and minimizing costs by assisting management with the use of sensors, remote sensing, and information technologies. There are several approaches to improving crop yields where remote sensing has proven to be an important methodology to determine agricultural maps to show surface differences which may be associated with many phenomena. Remote sensing utilizes a wide variety of image sensors that range from common RGB cameras to sophisticated, hyper-spectral image cameras which acquire images from outside the visible electromagnetic spectrum. The NDVI and NGBVI are computer vision vegetation index algorithms that perform operations from color masks such as red, green, and blue from RGB cameras and hyper-spectral masks such as near-infrared (NIR) to highlight surface differences in the image to detect crop anomalies. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship of NDVI and NGBVI as plant health indicators in tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) treated with the beneficial bacteria Bacillus cereus-Amazcala (B. c-A) as a protective agent to cope with Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm) infections. The results showed that in the presence of B. c-A after infection with Cmm, NDVI and NGBVI can be used as markers of plant weight and the activation of the enzymatic activities related to plant defense induction.

<!----> <!----> Worldwide, plants are exposed to different biotic and abiotic stress factors that may limit their yield, growth, quality, and performance. Plant production practices aim at plant cultivation trying to minimize their stress using different production systems either under protected or open field conditions. Notwithstanding, it is known that controlling plant stress during cultivation, a strategy called as “controlled elicitation,” might be a useful tool to enhance vegetables production. To conceive this idea, it is necessary to recall the theory of stress that indicates a dose–response relationship between the strength and length of the stress factor (stressor) and the plant response. Plant responses to cope stress are triggered after recognition of biological, chemical, or physical stressors. Slight doses of stressors might cause positive effects on plant performance (“positive stress” or eustress), whereas high doses cause negative effects (“negative stress” or distress). Managed as eustress dose a stressor is called “eustressor,” and it might stimulate the plant response in such a way that plant production and quality could be improved. Current literature has been reported showing beneficial effects for the applications of eustressors in crop production. This chapter aims at presenting an overview of the current status of case studies and applications of some biological, chemical, and physical eustressors in plant production. Some specific examples are also mentioned regarding the possibilities of controlled elicitation to increase crop production and quality. <!----> <!---->