Fig. 6

Nanoparticle-dsRNA complexes improved the protection of rice plants against Rhizoctonia solani. a Detached rice leaves were inoculated by fresh R. solani mycelium plugs (5 mm diameter) and simultaneously treated with 20 μL of diverse nanoparticle-dsRNA complexes at the inoculation site for 48 h. The final concentration of dsRNA used in each treatment was 50 ng/μL. b Relative lesion area was measured and calculated using ImageJ software. The average value of the lesion area in water treatment is set to 1.0. Data are means ± SD of three replicates. **Indicates significant difference at P < 0.01 (Student’s t-test)