Malays. Appl. Biol. (2017) 46(3): 233–238
SOLUBLE SILICON (Si) AS POTENTIAL TREATMENT OF POST
HARVEST DECAY CAUSED BY Fusarium proliferatum
NUR AZLIN, A1,2, SHUHADA, Z.1, NAJWA, J.1, XIAOLEI JIN3 and
SITI NORDAHLIAWATE M. SIDIQUE1
1Laboratory for Pest Disease and Microbial Biotechnology (LAPDiM),
School of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu,
Kuala Nerus, 21030, Malaysia
2Kolej Komuniti Selandar, Jalan Batang Melaka, Selandar,
Melaka, 77500, Malaysia
3Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-Sen University,
Lienhai Road, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan
*Email: dahliasidique@umt.edu.my
Accepted 8 September 2017, Published online 4 October 2017
ABSTRACT
Fusarium proliferatum is one of the common causal agents for pre-harvest and post-harvest diseases of plants. This study examined the effectiveness of applying soluble silicon as an alternative treatment in controlling post-harvest disease. In vitro assay was performed by applying poison plate technique with three different Si concentrations; 1.5% Si (v/v), 2.5% Si (v/v) and 3.5% Si (v/v) whereas for in vivo assay, F. proliferatum was inoculated into mature and healthy produce. The cucumber and aubergine were selected for in vivo assay and stored at 27-28°C for 8 days after treatment to assess disease severity. Results showed that Si significantly inhibited mycelial growth of F. proliferatum in vitro and the 3.5% (v/v) of Si was more effective than 1.5% (v/v) and 2.5 (v/v) as it showed a greater percent inhibition of radial growth. Therefore, 3.5% Si (v/v) was chosen for in vivo assay. The soluble Si demonstrated a lower disease severity on both, cucumber and aubergine. However, F. proliferatum is less severe on cucumber (15% decaying) than aubergine (33% decaying). This suggests that the Si may inhibit the germination of fungal spores and the elongation of their germ tubes. There is a potential role of soluble silicon as a decay-control product and could help reduce wastage especially fruit in storage.
Key words: Soluble silicon, Fusarium proliferatum, inhibit, in vitro and in vivo
