Plants accumulate silicon.
They contain 10-15% silicon by dry weight and include weeds growing in moist soil, such as rice and sedge.
Plants with a medium content of silicon:
They contain 1–3% silicon by dry weight and include dry land weeds such as wheat.
The plant that is not accumulating silicon:
Fruit trees and leguminous crops.
How do the plants absorb silicon?
The silicon element is absorbed in the form of salicylic acid or silicate ions into the interior of the root cells and transported through the cytoplasmic filaments to the xylem, where it is transferred to the vegetative system.
They are involved in the composition of the cell wall. These silicone polymers' types and molecular sizes differ from one plant to another. They have also been found to be associated with many other biological compounds, such as lignin, pectin, cellulose, and others.
The role of silicon in plant life
The silicon element plays a significant role in increasing the production of many plants, as it increases the amount of the crop, improves the soil's physical properties in the area of root spread, and improves root and vegetative growth.
Silicon fertilization processes make plants more resistant to dormancy. The silicon element reduces transpiration rates and increases plant resistance to drought and soil salinity.
The success of agricultural pest control operations does not mean that the plant is free of farm pests only but also that it is free from pesticide residues and toxic chemicals used irrationally to eliminate agricultural pests. The presence of pesticide residues decreases the quality of the crop.
Excessive use increases pest resistance to these pesticides, thus increasing the virulence of the pest.
Therefore, it is necessary to search for effective alternatives to resisting agricultural pests so they do not have residual toxic effects on the agricultural product. In this article, I will illuminate silica as one of the most famous materials that can be used.
The presence of the element silicon:
The silicon element represents about 27.2% of the elements on the face of the globe, after the oxygen element, which represents 45.5% of the elements.
On earth, silica SiO2 is the andric of orthosilicic acid H4SiO4, the soluble form of silica, and it can be neutralized with alkalis such as potassium hydroxide, so it turns into potassium silicate. Scientist Julius Sachs studied whether silicic acid has a role in plant nutrition and composition. What is the relationship between what plants eat from silicic acid and their performance and physiological functions?
Surprisingly, this question has yet to be raised, as many scientific research centers interested in agricultural production, plant physiology, and agricultural pest resistance are interested in this topic and dedicate much of their research to it. Silica as an alternative to pesticides in resistance processes and how it plays a significant role in producing a large crop free of fungal, insect, and acaricide pests and pesticides.
The results of using silicon on plants
It was found that treating the plant with silica compounds leads to the entry of silica into the composition of the cell walls and the formation of polymers (large molecules) containing silicon, which makes the cell walls more solid and thus resistant to the penetration of fungi. Thus, the plant becomes more resistant to fungal diseases.
These effects are considered among the most important resulting from treatment with silicon and are known as "Si-induced resistance."
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