Abstract: Aim】 Silicon (Si) amendment to plants can confer enhanced resistance to multiple herbivores. The study aims to understand the effects of Si amendment on silicification of rice leaf sheath and on piercing and host selection behaviors of the white-backed planthopper (WBPH), Sogatella furcifera, so as to identify Si-mediated rice resistance to WBPH. 【Methods】 Silicification of rice leaf sheath was observed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The piercing behavior of WBPH nymphs was recorded with electrical penetration graph (EPG). The host selection and oviposition preference of female adults of WBPH were determined with cage test. 【Results】 Compared with the control plants without Si amendment, the rice plants amended with 0.16 or 0.32 g SiO₂/kg soil were characterized by increased number of silica cells in the leaf sheaths. Si addition prolonged the non-probing event and pathway event and shortened the phloem ingestion event of WBPH nymphs. In the host selection tests, the settling preference of WBPH female adults for the rice plants amended with 0.16 and 0.32 g SiO₂/kg soil decreased by 48.0% and 67.4%, respectively, than for the control plants, and the oviposition amount on these Si-amended plants decreased by 34.8% and 46.1%, respectively, than on the control plants. 【Conclusion】 Si amendment to rice plants enhances rice resistance to WBPH through increasing the antixenosis of rice to WBPH and impairing the piercing behavior of WBPH.

Key words: Sogatella furcifera, silicon, rice, insect resistance, electrical penetration graph (EPG), piercing behavior, host selection