Seed-Encapsulation of Desiccation-Tolerant Microorganisms for the Protection of Maize from Drought: Phenotyping Effects of a New Dry Bioformulation Rebelo Romão, Inês Vílchez Morillas, Juan Ignacio Manzanera Ruiz, Maximino Enrique Desiccation-tolerant microorganisms Biofertilizer formulation Capsuled seeds Drought tolerance Crops enhancement Plant growth-promoting bacteria This research study was funded by the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness and the European Union, within the context of the research project CGL2017-91737-EXP and by the Andalusian Regional Government and the European Union (research project P18-RT-976). Droughts and high temperatures deeply affect crop production. The use of desiccationtolerant (or xerotolerant) microorganisms able to protect plants from droughts represents a promising alternative. These xerotolerant microorganisms have previously been used to modulate plant responses and improve their tolerance to drought. In addition, these microorganisms could be stored and used in dry formats, which would improve their viability and resilience at a much lower cost than current market alternatives. In the present study we analyze the possibility of using strains of xerotolerant Actinobacteria in encapsulated format on seeds. Under this formulation, we carried out greenhouse with farming soil with maize plants. Under greenhouse conditions, the plants showed greater resistance to drought, as well as increased growth and production yield, but not as well in field trials. This alternative could represent a useful tool to improve water efficiency in crops for drought-affected areas or affected by water scarcity. 2022-05-11T08:34:33Z 2022-05-11T08:34:33Z 2022-04-09 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Rebelo Romão, I... [et al.]. Seed-Encapsulation of Desiccation-Tolerant Microorganisms for the Protection of Maize from Drought: Phenotyping Effects of a New Dry Bioformulation. Plants 2022, 11, 1024. [https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11081024] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/74796 10.3390/plants11081024 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución 3.0 España MDPI