%0 Journal Article
%T Potassium silicate treatment enhances natural disease resistance in Capsicum annuum L. and reduces anthracnose disease development
%A N. K. B. Adikaram
%J Ceylon Journal of Science
%D 2019
%R 10.4038/cjs.v48i3.7649
%X The study investigated the possibility of enhancing natural disease resistance (NDR) of chili (<em>Capsicum annuum</em> L.), cvs. HYW and CA8, against anthracnose disease, using potassium silicate (Kasil£¿) as a soil drench or postharvest spray treatment. Anthracnose disease in chili, in this study, was shown to be caused by <em>Colletotrichum acutatum</em>. Potassium silicate (Kasil£¿), applied as a postharvest spray to the fruit of either cultivar, at 100, 200 and 400 mg/l, reduced anthracnose development significantly (<em>p</em> = 0.05) when the fruits were challenge-inoculated 3 days after treatment. Treatment was slightly more effective at 200 mg/l. There was 100% of reduction of anthracnose in treated fruits of cv. CA-8 throughout an 8th day period of storage following fruit inoculation. In the cv. HYW, the same treatment showed 100% disease reduction only initially, 4 days after inoculation. The treatment was also applied as a pre-harvest soil drench commencing from flower initiation, at 200 mg/l, weekly for 4 weeks. The treatment reduced anthracnose disease significantly (<em>p</em> = 0.05) in harvested fruits, challenge-inoculated with <em>C. acutatum</em>. Spore germination assay revealed that potassium silicate had no antifungal effect to <em>C. acutatum</em>. Potassium silicate (Kasil£¿)-treated fruits, inoculated with <em>C. acutatum</em> after harvest, showed greater accumulation of phytoalexins and increased level of ¦Â-1, 3-glucanase in fruit tissue
%U https://cjs.sljol.info/articles/10.4038/cjs.v48i3.7649/