Silicon control of soil-borne and seed-borne diseases

Abstract

The severity of several plant diseases caused by both soil-borne and seed-borne pathogens are dramatically decreased in agronomic and horticultural crops when they are produced in soils or in hydroponic culture amended with soluble silicon. Wilts, root rots, and galling caused by plant pathogens, such as Fusarium, Pythium, Rhizoctonia, and Meloidogyne, are less severe when silicon is made available resulting in slower disease progress and less disease severity. Brown spot, caused by Bipolaris oryzae, a devastating seed-borne disease of rice, causes severe grain discoloration that can be suppressed using silicon. A signifi cant decrease in grain and seedling discoloration was observed for plants supplied with silicon. In addition, seedling emergence was vastly improved. Because host resistance to these diseases may be limited, and the effi cacy of fungicide applications may be erratic, at best, for suppressing both soil- and seed-borne diseases, silicon undoubtedly is a well-suited strategy for inclusion in an integrated disease management program.