Sustainable food production for a rapidly growing global population is a major challenge of this century. In order to meet the demand for food production, an additional land area of 2.7-4.9 Mha year-1 will be required for agriculture. However, one-third of arable lands are already contaminated; therefore, the use of polluted lands will have to feature highly in modern agriculture. The use of such lands comes, however, with additional challenges, and suitable agrotechnological interventions are essential for ensuring the safety and sustainability of relevant production system. There are also other issues to consider, such as cost-benefit analysis, the possible entry of pollutants into the phytoproducts, certification and marketing of such products, in order to achieve the large-scale exploitation of polluted lands. The present article addresses the sustainability challenges of crop production from polluted lands and briefly outlines the plausible strategies for using polluted lands for sustainable agricultural extensification.

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This chapter discusses the role of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPR) and fungi (PGPF) in sustainable agriculture; importance of PGPR and PGPF in phyto/bioremediation; role of PGPR and PGPF in biomass and biofuel production; role of PGPR and PGPF in wasteland and degraded land reclamation; role of plant growth-promoting microorganisms in carbon sequestration under warming climate; and strategies for enhancing the performance of plant growth-promoting microorganisms.