Silicon absorption in plants

Silicon is present in the soil as an inert element and it is the second most abundant element in the earth's crust making up 27.72% of its weight. Although Silicon (Si) is not recognized as an essential element for higher plants in general, it has many beneficial effects on the growth and production of a wide range of plant species.
Silicon is known to effectively mitigate various environmental stresses and improve plant resistance against both fungal and bacterial pathogens. Its uptake and transportability mainly depend on the plant roots and its chemical composition in the soil. Silicon is taken up by roots as monosilicic acid Si(OH)4, which is the soluble form present in soil at pH<9. After uptake and transportation to the shoots, as a result of transpiration, Si concentrates and polymerizes into colloidal silica gel. Plant species are categorized as accumulators, intermediate, or non-accumulators/excluders of Silicon. Some plants like lettuce, pepper and tomato that are not able to adsorb Silicon by the root system but they adsorb it by the leaves. On the other hand plants like coffee are not able to adsorb Silicon in general. Many plants like apples, cereals, onions are able to adsorb Silicon both from leaves and roots. It is very important to apply Silicon based fertiliser cottectly according to the target crop to obtain the best results. Agridaeus has developed a compatibility table chart based on the ability of the main crops to adsorb Silicon from leaves or roots or both making each farmer sure to apply correctly Agridaeus Silicon based fertiliser: SILIK EVO. Download the Compatibility Chart now!