Citation: Saleem, S.; Sekara, A.; Pokluda, R. Serendipita indica—A Review from Agricultural Point of View. Plants 2022, 11, 3417. https://doi.org/10.3390/ plants11243417 Academic Editors: Wen Chen and Adeline Picot Received: 5 October 2022 Accepted: 5 December 2022 Published: 7 December 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). plants Review Serendipita indica—A Review from Agricultural Point of View Sana Saleem 1, *, Agnieszka Sekara 2 and Robert Pokluda 1 1 Department of Vegetable Sciences and Floriculture, Faculty of Horticulture, Mendel University in Brno, Valticka 337, 691 44 Lednice, Czech Republic 2 Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Biotechnology and Horticulture, University of Agriculture, 31-120 Krakow, Poland * Correspondence: xsaleem@mendelu.cz Abstract: Fulfilling the food demand of a fast-growing population is a global concern, resulting in increased dependence of the agricultural sector on various chemical formulations for enhancing crop production. This leads to an overuse of chemicals, which is not only harmful to human and animal health, but also to the environment and the global economy. Environmental safety and sustainable production are major responsibilities of the agricultural sector, which is inherently linked to the conservation of the biodiversity, the economy, and human and animal health. Scientists, therefore, across the globe are seeking to develop eco-friendly and cost-effective strategies to mitigate these issues by putting more emphasis on the use of beneficial microorganisms. Here, we review the literature on Serendipita indica, a beneficial endophytic fungus, to bring to the fore its properties of cultivation, the ability to enhance plant growth, improve the quality of produced crops, mitigate various plant stresses, as well as protect the environment. The major points in this review are as fol- lows: (1) Although various plant growth promoting microorganisms are available, the distinguishing character of S. indica being axenically cultivable with a wide range of hosts makes it more interesting for research. (2) S. indica has numerous functions, ranging from promoting plant growth and quality to alleviating abiotic and biotic stresses, suggesting the use of this fungus as a biofertiliser. It also improves the soil quality by limiting the movement of heavy metals in the soil, thus, protecting the environment. (3) S. indica’s modes of action are due to interactions with phytohormones, metabo- lites, photosynthates, and gene regulation, in addition to enhancing nutrient and water absorption. (4) Combined application of S. indica and nanoparticles showed synergistic promotion in crop growth, but the beneficial effects of these interactions require further investigation. This review concluded that S. indica has a great potential to be used as a plant growth promoter or biofertiliser, ensuring sustainable crop production and a healthy environment. Keywords: beneficial microorganism; endophytic fungus; symbiosis; stress tolerance; biofertiliser; plant growth; quality; gene regulation; phytohormones; nanoparticle 1. Introduction A diverse range of microorganisms in soil play critical functions, such as nutrient acquisition, organic matter cycling, soil and plant health maintenance, soil restoration and ecosystem primary production, and are thus considered as beneficial organisms [1]. By increasing crop yield, quality, and shielding the plants from various biotic and abiotic challenges, these microbes have shown several positive effects on the farming system. In addition, environmental protection, an increasing concern across the globe, is the main ad- vantage these creatures provide [2]. Moreover, the rising demand and growing awareness of high-quality food has stimulated the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural production practices. These methods could be achieved by reducing the usage of chemicals and encouraging the application of beneficial microorganisms [3]. Apart from contributing to sustainability, beneficial microorganisms are also economically Plants 2022, 11, 3417. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11243417 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/plants