Abstract
Silicon (Si) is known to reduce the incidence of pathogens on many plants. Little information is available on the potential positive effects of Si on the susceptibility of banana (Musa acuminata) to pathogens. Root-rot fungi of the genus Cylindrocladium have been reported, along with endoparasitic nematodes, to be the causal agent of toppling disease and severe yield loss. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of Si supply on Cylindrocladium spathiphylli infection on banana. Plantlets inoculated by dipping the root system in a conidial suspension of the pathogen were grown on a desilicated ferralsol and amended, or not, with 2 mM of soluble Si under greenhouse conditions in Guadeloupe. The root lesion severity was evaluated using the image analysis program WinRHIZO 7, 14 and 21 days after inoculation. A reduction of about 50% of root necrosis was observed 14 days after inoculation for the Si-supplied plants compared with those not supplied with Si. The Si amendment also alleviated growth reduction caused by the pathogen. These results suggest that Si could have a positive effect on banana resistance to C. spathiphylli and provide an environmentally friendly alternative to pesticides for the integrated control of an important crop disease.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arias, P., Dankers, C., Liu, P., & Pilkauskas, P. (2003). L’économie mondiale de la banane 1985–2002 (p. 102). Rome: FAO Press.
Bélanger, R. R., Benhamou, N., & Menzies, J. G. (2003). Cytological evidence of an active role of silicon in wheat resistance to powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f.sp. tritici). Phytopathology, 93, 402–412.
Cai, K., Gao, D., Shiming, L., Resen, Z., Yang, J., & Zhu, X. (2008). Physiological and cytological mechanisms of silicon-induced resistance in rice against blast disease. Physiologia Plantarum, 134, 324–333.
Chain, F., Côté-Beaulieu, C., Belzile, F., Menzies, J. G., & Bélanger, R. R. (2009). A comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of the effect of silicon on wheat plants under control and pathogen stress conditions. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, 22, 1323–1330.
Chao, T. T., & Sanzolone, R. F. (1992). Decomposition techniques. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 44, 65–106.
Chérif, M., Menzies, J. G., Benhamou, N., & Bélanger, R. R. (1992). Studies of silicon distribution in wounded and Pythium ultimum infected cucumber plants. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology, 4, 371–385.
Chérif, M., Asselin, A., & Bélanger, R. R. (1994). Defense responses induced by soluble silicon in cucumber roots infected by Pythium spp. Phytopathology, 84, 236–242.
Cornelis, J.-T., Delvaux, B., & Titeux, H. (2010). The contrasting silicon uptakes by coniferous trees: a hydroponic experiment. Plant and Soil, 336, 99–106.
Datnoff, L. E., Rodrigues, F. A., & Seebold, K. W. (2007). Silicon and plant disease. In L. E. Datnoff, W. H. Elmer, & D. M. Huber (Eds.), Mineral nutrition and plant disease (pp. 233–246). St. Paul: The American Phytopathological Society.
Diogo, R. V. C., & Wydra, K. (2007). Silicon-induced basal resistance in tomato against Ralstonia solanacearum is related to modification of pectic cell wall polysaccharide structure. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology, 70, 120–129.
Epstein, E. (1994). The anomaly of silicon in plant biology. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 91, 11–17.
Epstein, E. (2009). Silicon: its manifold roles in plants. Annals of Applied Biology, 155, 155–160.
Fauteux, F., Rémus-Borel, W., Menzies, J. G., & Bélanger, R. R. (2005). Silicon and plant disease resistance against pathogenic fungi. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 249, 1–6.
Fawe, A., Abou-Zaid, M., Menzies, J. G., & Bélanger, R. R. (1998). Silicon-mediated accumulation of flavonoid phytoalexins in cucumber. Phytopathology, 88, 396–401.
Fawe, A., Menzies, J. G., Chérif, M., & Bélanger, R. R. (2001). Silicon and disease resistance in dicotyledons. In L. E. Datnoff, G. H. Snyder, & G. H. Korndörfer (Eds.), Silicon in agriculture (pp. 159–169). The Netherlands: Elsevier Science.
Henriet, C., Draye, X., Oppitz, I., Swennen, R., & Delvaux, B. (2006). Effects, distribution and uptake of silicon in banana (Musa spp.) under controlled conditions. Plant and Soil, 287, 359–374.
Henriet, C., De Jaeger, N., Dorel, M., Opfergelt, S., & Delvaux, B. (2008). The reserve of weatherable primary silicates impacts the accumulation of biogenic silicon in volcanic ash soils. Biogeochemistry, 90, 209–223.
Kablan, L., Delvaux, B., & Legrève, A. (2008, October). Impact of silicon on the susceptibility of banana plants (Musa acuminata) to black Sigatoka disease. Paper presented at the 4th International conference of Silicon in Agriculture, Port Edward, South Africa.
Keeping, M. G., & Reynolds, O. L. (2009). Silicon in agriculture: new insights, new significance and growing application. Annals of Applied Biology, 155, 153–154.
Lahav, E. (1995). Banana nutrition. In S. Gowen (Ed.), Bananas and plantains (pp. 258–316). London: Chapman and Hall.
Lassoudière, A. (2007). Le bananier et sa culture (p. 383). Quae: France.
Ma, J. F., & Yamaji, N. (2006). Silicon uptake and accumulation in higher plants. Trends in Plant Science, 11, 392–397.
Ma, J. F., Miyake, Y., & Takahashi, E. (2001). Silicon as a beneficial element for crop plants. In L. E. Datnoff, G. H. Snyder, & G. H. Korndörfer (Eds.), Silicon in agriculture (pp. 17–39). The Netherlands: Elsevier Science.
Martinati, J. C., Harakava, R., Guzzo, S. D., & Tsai, S. M. (2008). The potential use of a silicon source as a component of an ecological management of coffee plants. Journal of Phytopathology, 156, 458–463.
Menzies, J. G., Ehret, D. L., Glass, A. D. M., & Samuels, A. L. (1991). The influence of silicon on cytological interactions between Sphaerotheca fuliginea on Cucumis sativus. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology, 39, 403–414.
Raven, J. A. (2001). Silicon transport at the cell and tissue level. In L. E. Datnoff, G. H. Snyder, & G. H. Korndörfer (Eds.), Silicon in agriculture (pp. 41–56). The Netherlands: Elsevier Science.
Reynolds, O. L., Keeping, M. G., & Meyer, J. H. (2009). Silicon-augmented resistance of plants to herbivorous insects: a review. Annals of Applied Biology, 155, 171–186.
Risède, J. M. (2008). Isolation of Cylindrocladium spp. in root and soils from banana cropping systems. Fruits, 63, 57–61.
Risède, J. M., & Rhino, B. (2008). Long-term maintenance of Cylindrocladium strains and procedures for inoculum production. Fruits, 63, 193–197.
Risède, J. M., & Simoneau, P. (2004). Pathogenic and genetic diversity of soilborne isolates of Cylindrocladium from banana cropping systems. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 110, 139–154.
Rodrigues, F. A., Vale, F. X. R., Korndörfer, G. H., Prabhu, A. S., Datnoff, L. E., Oliveira, A. M. A., et al. (2003). Influence of silicon on sheath blight of rice in Brazil. Crop Protection, 22, 23–29.
Seebold, K. W., Datnoff, L. E., Correa-Victoria, F. J., Kucharek, T. A., & Snyder, G. H. (2000). Effect of silicon rate and host resistance on blast, scald and yield of upland rice. Plant Disease, 84, 871–876.
Sommer, M., Kaczorek, D., Kuzyakov, Y., & Breuer, J. (2006). Silicon pools and fluxes in soils and landscapes—a review. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 169, 310–329.
Stumm, W., & Morgan, J. J. (1996). Aquatic chemistry-chemical equilibria and rates in natural waters. New York: Wiley.
Swain, B. N., & Prasad, J. S. (1988). Influence of silica content in the roots of rice varieties on the resistance to root rot nematode. Indian Journal of Nematology, 18, 360–361.
Swennen, R., & Vuylsteke, D. (2001). Bananier. In R. H. Raemaekers (Ed.), Agriculture en Afrique Tropicale (pp. 611–637). Bruxelles: DGCI.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank A. Iserentant for ICP-AES analysis and Dr J-T Cornelis and Dr F Crutzen for critical reading of the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Marie-Liesse Vermeire and Lucie Kablan contributed equally to this work.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vermeire, ML., Kablan, L., Dorel, M. et al. Protective role of silicon in the banana-Cylindrocladium spathiphylli pathosystem. Eur J Plant Pathol 131, 621–630 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-011-9835-x
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-011-9835-x