Non-uptake of silicon and variable nematode species relationships between different levels of this element in sugarcane

Abstract

Silicon (Si) is known to alleviate biotic and abiotic stresses in many crops. Much of the research on the biotic influence of Si has dealt with insects and fungi, with no proper studies on the effect of Si on plant-parasitic nematodes. To investigate this effect, a replicated field trial was planted with sugarcane in KwaZulu-Natal, comparing Si carriers, bagasse, filtercake and fly ash, added either by themselves or in combination with condensed molasses stillage (CMS), thume, CMS alone and aldicarb (a synthetic nematicide) to untreated plots. Applying the Si carriers to the soil was not always sufficient to increase levels of Si in the sugarcane leaves. Uptake of Si by sugarcane required a particular chemical balance in the soil, which was not found uniformly in this field. As a consequence,the addition of Si carriers, per se, had no effect on the nematode community. However, a comparison between Si-rich and Si-poor plots, selected independently of the treatments, showed that total numbers of plant-parasitic nematodes and numbers of Pratylenchus zeae and Helicotylenchus dihystera in the soil were significantly lower in plots where foliar Si levels were higher. The same trend was true for the number of P. zeae in the roots, but the difference was not significant. Multivariate analysis showed that while numbers of some of the nematodes in the soil were depressed in the higher Si plots, numbers of the more damaging nematodes were unaffected. As a result there was still a potential risk in the long term for damage to the crop caused by these nematodes.