Mineral Nutrition for the Management of Rice Diseases

Mineral elements are applied to improve the plant health and yield. Host nutrition plays a crucial role in the outcome of the interaction between plants and pathogens. Though resistance and susceptibility are controlled genetically, a minor change in the nutritional status of the plants can have a considerable effect on severity of the disease. Mineral nutrition plays a very important role in the prevention of plant disease. Balanced plant nutrition promotes plant vigour providing tolerance to pathogen infection, improve physiological resistance to pathogen and affect the pathogen growth and multiplication. Although disease cannot be totally eliminated by any particular nutrient, the severity of the disease can be greatly reduced by manipulating the mineral nutrition of the plants. The present paper reviews thematically the role of nutrients in such management of diseases. Growers must use proper fertilizer programs, based on soil tests, plant analysis and disease monitoring.