Manoj Kumar SolankiManoj Kumar Solanki (Ph.D.) is currently working as a scientist in the Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environment Protection of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland, under the Polish National Agency for Acdemic Exchange program. He obtained his Master's degree in Microbiology from Barkatullah University in 2006 and a Ph.D. degree in Microbiology from Rani Durgawati University, India, in 2013. He was awarded a visiting scientist fellowship from the Guangxi Academy of Agriculture Sciences, China, in 2013-2015, and was also awarded as visiting scientist from the Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Israel 2016-2020. During his Ph.D., he was awarded a Senior Research Fellowship from the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), India. He also worked as a research associate in the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), India, in a DBT-funded project. He has been engaged in various research activities on plant-microbes interaction, soil microbiology, plant disease management, and enzymology, and published many book chapters and various research papers in the journals of international repute. His current research interest lies in post-harvest disease management, the study of bacterial and fungal microbiomes, nutrient management, plant disease management, bioformulation preparation and application, microbial genome analysis, microbial diversity, lytic enzymes such as chitinase and amylase, stress regulation by plant growth-promoting microbes, and soil microbial community analysis by modern biotechnological tools. He has vast experience in several plant diseases like root rot, wilt, charcoal rot, downy mildew, and their management. Dr. Solanki has a great interest in agriculturally important microorganisms (such as bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, and yeast), especially in the utilization of microorganisms in soil and crop health management and other allied areas. Read More Read Less