Silicon builds resilience in strawberry plants against both strawberry powdery mildew Podosphaera aphanis and two-spotted spider mites Tetranychus urticae.

ABSTRACT: Silicon is found in all plants and the accumulation of silicon can improve plant tolerance to biotic stress. Strawberry powdery mildew (Podosphaera aphanis) and two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) are both detrimental to strawberry production worldwide. Two field trials were done on a UK commercial strawberry farm in 2014 and 2015, to assess the effects of silicon nutrient applied via the fertigation system on P. aphanis and T. urticae. The silicon treatments decreased the severity of both P. aphanis and T. urticae in two consecutive years on different cultivars. The percentage leaf area infected with P. aphanis mycelium from silicon treated plants were 2.19 (in 2014) and 0.41 (in 2015) compared with 3.08 (in 2014) and 0.57 (in 2015) from the untreated plants. The etiology of the

SUBMITTER: Liu B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7723277 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature