Use of Sodium Hypochlorite for the Control of Bakanae Disease in Rice

Abstract

For application of sodium hypochlorite as a seed disinfectant to the control of bakanae disease caused by Gibberella fujikuroi in rice, we investigated the effects of sodium hypochlorite for antifungal activity, eliminating fungus from seeds and reducing disease occurrence in vitro and greenhouse. The viability of the pathogen was significantly reduced at 80 ml/l concentration of sodium hypochlorite, and the pathogens did not grow at over 100 ml/l concentration of sodium hypochlorite. The effect of eliminating fungus was 90% at treatment of 0.3% sodium hypochlorite solution to infected rice seeds for eight hours. When the rice seeds were soaked into 0.5% and 0.3% sodium hypochlorite solutions for twelve hours, the disease incidences of rice seedling were remarkably reduced to 4.3% and 4.7%, respectively, compared to 97.3% of non-treatment control. The rates of seedling stand were 29.1% and 26.9% higher with the sodium hypochlorite treatment than that of non-treatment control. When prochloraz and sodium hypochlorite was treated to naturally severely infested rice seeds with bakanae disease, the disinfection effect was higher than that of prochloraz alone treatment. When the seeds were soaked in sodium hypochlorite before or after prochloraz, the rate of seed contamination was low as 4.0% or 6.3%, respectively, compared to prochloraz alone as 13.7%. The disease incidence was low as 3.7% or 8.3%, respectively, compared to prochloraz alone as 14.3%. The disinfection effect of treatment with prochloraz after sodium hypochlorite was higher than that of treatment with prochloraz before sodium hypochlorite.

Keywords

• Bakanae disease
• Gibberella fujikuroi