Silicon Supplements Potentially Reduce the Sheath Blight Incidence and Severity of Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

Sheath Blight is a disease causing up to 50% yield losses of rice depending on severity. Silicon (Si) is a beneficial nutrient for rice having the ability to protect against diseases. So, a pot experiment was carried out at the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture Headquarters Farm, Mymensingh from July 2021 to November 2021 with artificial inoculation of Rhizoctonia solani to study the effect of different Si supplements and their doses on rice ShB incidence and severity. The test crop used in the study was Chinigura aromatic rice variety. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. Among the nine treatments, except control, Si was applied from K2SiO3, CaSiO3, and MgSiO3 with three concentrations viz., 2, 4, and 6 mM Si respectively through the foliar spray. The application of different Si supplements showed a significant positive effect on the growth, yield contributing characters, and yield of rice. The highest yield was found at the application of Si as CaSiO3 6 mM. Disease incidence and severity matrix were significantly reduced due to the application of different Si supplements. The minimum disease incidence and severity matrix were found at T6 (CaSiO3 6 mM) treatment. The maximum disease incidence and severity matrix reduction was 35.27% and 54.3%, respectively at T6 (CaSiO3 6 mM) treatment over control (without Si application) which was statistically identical to T3 (K2SiO3 6 mM), T7 (MgSiO3 2 mM), and T8 (MgSiO3 4 mM). The overall disease incidence and severity matrix reduction over control was 24.68% and 35.59%, respectively due to different Si supplement applications. Again, the highest nutrient concentration was found in different Si supplement treatments over control. So, Si supplement applications such as K2SiO3, CaSiO3, and MgSiO3 may be an advisable option for the management of sheath blight disease of rice for successful crop production.