title: Silicon-mediated rice plant resistance to the Asiatic rice borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae): effects of silicon amendment and rice varietal resistance.
abstract: The Asiatic rice borer, Chilo suppressalis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is one of the most destructive pests in rice, Oryza sativa L., throughout Asian countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of applied silicon in mediating rice plant resistance to C. suppressalis in a susceptible (Shanyou63) and a moderately resistant (Yanfeng47) rice cultivar. Silicon-treated plants showed significant increases in silicon content compared with the control. Silicon addition significantly decreased borer penetration, weight gain, and stem damage, and it prolonged penetration duration and larval development; some of the effects were manifested more strongly in the susceptible rice cultivar compared with the moderately resistant cultivar. Therefore, silicon amendment may contribute to the suppression of C. suppressalis directly through reduced feeding damage and performance and indirectly through increased exposure time of young larvae to natural enemies and control measures.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2 Yuanmingyuan W. Road, Beijing 100193, China. mlhou@ippcaas.cn
authors.forename: Maolin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Yongqiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005820:Genetic Testing; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009036:Moths / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000502:physiology; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000469:parasitology; D012825:Silicon / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000502:physiology*; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D012825:Silicon