Written by cpm
New research is adding grist to the mill when it comes to the use of silicon on crops and how it could help growers reduce their reliance on plant protection products. CPM finds out more. The first line in defence is the outer layer of the leaves. By Lucy de la Pasture Silicon is the second most abundant element on the planet, but most of it isn’t in a form that’s available to plants. Although all plants have silicon in their leaf hairs, it’s not classified as an essential nutrient. Even so there’s a growing body of evidence to suggest that silicon can help increase the resilience of plants to pests and diseases. Significant research has been conducted around the world in monocotyledonous crops, such as wheat, which demonstrates that applications of silicon result in positive morphological changes, including strengened cell walls and increased leaf cuticle thickness, says Dr Avice Hall, plant pathologist at the University of Hertfordshire. Additional benefits have also been noted, such as reduced disease infection alongside improved quality and post-harvest shelf life, she adds. Avice has been researching the effects of a silicon-based nutrient for several years in strawberry crops, as well as investigating the…
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