Fruit Microbiome Emerging Aspects in Postharvest Disease Management

Ajay Kumar is currently an Assistant Professor at the Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Noida, India. He previously served as a Visiting Scientist at the Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Israel (2018–2022), and completed his doctoral research at the Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, focusing on plant–microbe interactions. Dr. Kumar’s research expertise spans plant–microbe interactions, microbial biocontrol, postharvest fruit disease management, microbial endophytes of medicinal plants, and cyanobacteria–pesticide interactions. He is a prolific author in leading international journals and is also actively engaged in academic editing with major publishers such as Elsevier, Springer, CRC Press, and Wiley. Dr. Kumar currently serves as an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Microbiology and BMC Microbiology, a Guest Editor for Microorganisms and Plants (MDPI), and a Series Editor for Plant and Soil Microbiome (Elsevier).

Sergio de los Santos Villalobos is a full-time professor at Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, where he conducts research in microbial ecology, plant–microorganism–soil interactions, microbial inoculant production, and agro‑ecosystem conservation using isotopic techniques. His work integrates ecological, physiological, biochemical, and genetic approaches, spanning research from in vitro studies to field-level applications. In addition to his research and publications contributions, he has organized and taught multiple workshops and has served as President of international scientific congresses, as well as a plenary speaker at various congresses and symposia. His scientific achievements have been recognized by the National System of Researchers (Level 2), a special mention in the 2013 AgroBio Award (national), and the 2014 Tecnos Award (international) for contributions to biotechnology. He is also a member of expert panels for several organizations dedicated to soil conservation and the development of microbial inoculants for sustainable agriculture. Currently, he serves as an Associate Editor for several high–impact journals. His research programs and outputs reflect the work of a strong collaborative team of students and colleagues committed to advancing scientific knowledge with national and global impact, as well as the comprehensive training of human resources.

Manoj Kumar Solanki is currently employed as a scientist in the Institute of Biology, Biotechnology, and Environment Protection of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. In 2006, he received his master’s degree in microbiology from Barkatullah University, and in 2013, he received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Rani Durgawati University in India. He also served as a research associate in a DBTfunded project at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India. He received a visiting scientist fellowship from the Guangxi Academy of Agriculture Sciences in China from 2013 to 2015, as well as a visiting scientist fellowship from the Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization in Israel from 2016 to 2020. He has been involved in numerous research activities on plants-microbes interaction, soil microbiology, plant disease management, enzymology, and microbial genome analysis during his research career, and has published a number of publications in prestigious peer-reviewed international journals and books. He is also expanding his knowledge of agriculturally significant microorganisms, with a focus on soil and crop health management, among other things as well as worked as associate/guest editor for various journals and has sound expertise in editing books and reviewing articles.