Substantial reductions in winter wheat diseases caused by addition of straw but not manure to soil

Over a period of 3 years, five agronomically distinct crops of winter wheat were grown in plots in which straw (1 kg m⁻²), manure (4 kg m⁻²) or nothing were incorporated into the soil. Plant establishment and height, but not leaf area per tiller, were lower in straw-treated plots. Fertilizer regimes differed between years. Soil and leaf nitrogen were recorded; there was no obvious link between N and any disease or soil amendment. The numbers of leaf layers scorable for disease were similar in all treatments. At the end of the season, plants from straw-treated plots had consistently reduced septoria tritici blotch (caused by Mycosphaerella graminicola), powdery mildew [caused by Erysiphe (Blumeria) graminis], brown rust (caused by Puccinia recondita) and foot rot (caused by Fusarium spp.). Early on, M. graminicola was worse in straw-treated plots. In manure-treated plots, P. recondita was reduced but effects on other diseases were inconsistent and slight. A fungicide, chlorothalonil, was applied in one crop; its effects did not interact with those of other treatments. Mycosphaerella graminicola was not suppressed by straw in outdoor pot experiments. Late in the season, straw-treated plants had significantly higher leaf silica (P < 0·01). In a glasshouse experiment, plants supplied with silicon had less E. graminis infection (P < 0·001) and higher leaf silica, but effects on M. graminicola were inconsistent. A prior inoculation of M. graminicola primed plant defences against a subsequent attack of E. graminis, but only in the presence of adequate Si. It is postulated that straw acts in the field by increasing Si availability.