Potassium silicate and calcium silicate on the resistance of soybean to Phakopsora pachyrhizi infection

Abstract

The control of Asian Soybean Rust (ASR), caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi, has been difficult due to the aggressiveness of the pathogen and the lack of resistant cultivars. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of spray of potassium silicate (PS) and soil amendment with calcium silicate (CS) on soybean resistance to ASR. The PS solution was sprayed to leaves 24 hours prior to fungal inoculation while CS was amended to the soil at thirty-five days before sowing. The infection process of P. pachyrhizi was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The uredia on leaves of plants sprayed with PS were smaller and more compact than those observed on the leaves of plants grown in soil amended with CS or in soil non-amended with CS (control treatment). On leaves of plants from the control treatment, uredia produced many urediniospores at 9 days after inoculation, and the ASR severity was 15, 8 and 9%, respectively, for plants from control, PS and CS treatments. In conclusion, the spray of PS contributed to reduce the number of uredia per cm² of leaf area and both PS spray and CS resulted in lower ASR symptoms.