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Abstract Background Black root rot is a complex disease caused by one or more of fungal pathogens especially Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium solani. It is a serious, yield-limiting disease of strawberry plants. A considerable incidence of black root rot has been observed in recent years in Egypt. Materials/methods Evaluation of silicon as well as potassium, sodium, and calcium silicates against black root rot and induced pathogenesis-related (PR) protein under field conditions was investigated herein. Four concentrations, i.e., 0, 2, 4, and 6 g/l of silicon, potassium, sodium, and calcium silicates, were tested to study their effect on growth of strawberry black root fungi (F. solani and R. solani) under laboratory and field conditions. Results Complete inhibition of fungal linear growth was observed with 4 and 6 g/l for R. solani and F. solani, respectively, in the laboratory. Under field conditions, all tested concentrations significantly reduced the disease incidence and severity. The highest reduction of such disease incidence and severity was obtained with potassium silicate and calcium silicate applied separately as soil treatment combined with foliar sprays which reduced the disease incidence and severity by 92.7 and 91.9, and 91.7 and 91.1%, respectively. The highest yield increase, i.e., 77.1 and 72.8%, was obtained with potassium silicate and calcium silicate, respectively, applied as soil treatment + foliar spray. Results indicated that 8 to 12 new protein patterns (bands) appeared in the tested treatments. Conclusions No-standalone management measure is perfectly effective against the black root-rot complex. Thus, an integrated management including tactful cultural practices and applying foliar and soil inputs, e.g., silicon salts reported herein, can effectively control the disease and enhance strawberry yield. |
