IN VITRO EVALUATION OF TEBUCONAZOLE ON Magnaporthe oryzae triticum TO CONTROL BLAST OF WHEAT: IN PROCESSES OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES GENERATION AND ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE RESPONSES

Abstract

Blast is an important disease of wheat that significantly reduces the plant growth and productivity. Proper management can ameliorate dysfunction in and improve the plant growth and productivity. Therefore, the present study was conducted to explore the protective role of the tebuconazole fungicide in helping wheat seedlings to tolerate blast disease. Ten-day-old hydroponically grown seedlings were allowed to inoculation of Magnaporthe oryzae triticum (MoT) spore suspension and with the tebuconazole fungicides (0.3 g L −1 ) for the next six days. The inoculation of MoT spore suspension deteriorated the growth of the wheat seedlings by increasing the number of infected plant and leaf lesions. Among the varieties, lower blast symptom was observed in BARI Gom 33 (V2P) compared to BARI Gom 26 (V1P). The malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased by 102.80 and 163.96% in BARI Gom 26 and BARI Gom 33, respectively compared to control. Shoot and root electrolyte leakage also increased by MoT inoculation. Therefore, the level of H also increased that observed in histochemical detection. The infection of blast disease, relative water content decreased by 50.18 and 51.26% in BARI Gom 26 and BARI Gom 33, respectively compared to control plant. Photosynthetic pigment such as Chl a, Chl b, Chl (a+b), and carotenoid contents also reduced by blast infection. Thus the growth and biomass of wheat seedlings were decreased. However, tebuconazole fungicide reduced the oxidative damage by reducing MDA, electrolyte leakage, H 2 O 2 and O 2 •− production. Therefore, improved relative water content and photosynthetic pigments as well as improved the growth and biomass of wheat seedlings. These results indicate the exogenous application of tebuconazole fungicide is a promising approach to improve blast tolerance in wheat plants. Further investigation is needed under field conditions to determine the blast-tolerance induced by tebuconazole fungicide application