Abstract
Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is a severe soil borne disease. The control of this disease is still a worldwide problem in agriculture. In this study, we found that application of potassium (K) fertilizer could decrease the occurrence of SCN at two field sites. Furthermore, the application of K could suppress Heterodera glycines with the activation of Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyase (PAL) and Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO) expression via pot experiments in a greenhouse. The release of cinnamic, ferulic and salicylic acids was significantly enhanced by K application of 3 mM, and each of three acids can dramatically constrain Heterodera glycines in vitro. This research indicated that K induce multiple mechanisms to improve the resistance of soybean against SCN and provide a new strategy to control SCN in fields with nutrient application.
Highlights
Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) accounts for 7% of the total crop cultivation area and is one of the economically important crops in China
Most K fertilizer studies have focused on plant resistance performance in the field
We demonstrated that application of an appropriate amount of K fertilizer induce the plant’s defense potential against Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) disease at both the physiological and molecular levels from field trials and greenhouse experiments
Summary
Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) accounts for 7% of the total crop cultivation area and is one of the economically important crops in China. Many studies have found that application of K fertilizer can enormously reduce the incidence of crop stalk, leaf or root diseases, which has been attributed to K nutrition of crop tissue, which promotes the activities of enzymes and induces abundant natural compounds [11,13,15]. These results have been well documented by the main potential mechanisms to control plant diseases [10,15].
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