Abstract
Spot blotch disease of wheat caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana (Sacc.) Shoem is considered as an economically important disease which affects all the growing stages of wheat crop. Therefore, it is important to search some effective management strategies against the spot blotch pathogen. Some synthetic elicitor compounds (salicylic acid, isonicotinic acid, and chitosan) and nano-particles (silver and aluminum) were tested against the pathogen to observe the change in biochemical activity and defense action of wheat plant against spot blotch disease. All the tested elicitor compounds and nano-particles showed a significant increase in activity of peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase (PPO), and total phenol over control. The highest increase in activity of peroxidase was recorded at 72 h from chitosan at 2 mM and 96 h from silver nano-particle at 100 ppm. Maximum PPO and total phenol activity were recorded from chitosan at 2 mM and silver nano-particle at 100 ppm as compared to pathogen-treated and healthy control. The lowest percent disease index, lowest no. of spots/leaf, and no. of infected leaves/plant were found in silver nano-particle at 100 ppm and chitosan at 2 mM, respectively. The use of defense inducer compounds results in significantly up-regulated enzymatic activity and reduced spot blotch disease. Therefore, chitosan and silver nano-particle could be used as alternative methods for the management of spot blotch disease.