Controle de giberela e promoção de crescimento em plantas de trigo tratadas com silício

Abstract

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is among the most widely produced cereals in the world. However, in the regions of higher production, this cereal is affected by many diseases, the main one being gibberella, caused by the fungus Gibberella zeae (Schw) Petch. (anamorph Fusarium graminearum Schwabe). Silicon (Si) is considered a beneficial element for plants, showing positive results regarding protection against biotic and abiotic stresses. Thus, this work aims to evaluate the effect of Si in the control of gibberellosis and in growth promotion in wheat plants. The experiment was conducted in pots, each containing two plants, in a greenhouse at the Experimental Area of the Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul, Campus Cerro Largo. The experimental design used was the Completely Randomized Design in 2x4 factorial scheme, with two commercial silicon-based products (Pontenccy® and SiliAgro®) in four forms of application (Witness, foliar, soil and Foliar + Soil). In the blooming phase of wheat, the main ear of each plant was inoculated with the pathogen that causes gibberellosis using a suspension calibrated for a concentration of 5x104 conidia mL-1. The variables analyzed were gibberellosis incidence and severity, plant height, number of ears, dry mass of the aerial part and, only in the inoculated ears, the number of spikelets, number of grains and grain weight. The results showed that, in general, there were no significant differences between the commercial products. For the Foliar + Soil application, there was a reduction in the severity of gibberellosis and also showed taller plants. For the other variables there were no significant differences.