01 Dec Importance of Silicon in Rice for Yield Enhancement
धान की उपज में वृद्धि के लिए सिलिकॉन का महत्व Silicon (Si) is next to oxygen (O) in quantity on earth’s crust. Silicon in combination with oxygen forms silicon dioxide (SiO2) which is also known as silica. About 87% of the earth’s surface is made up of silica. There are 200 over types of silicate rocks in nature. These include quartz and mica. The white mica is made up of silicon, potassium and aluminum whereas the black mica contains iron and magnesium. The original soil minerals are predominantly silicate compounds. The silicon in sand, silt, and clay is extremely insoluble and difficult to be absorbed by plant. However, under the reaction of soil microorganism and a process called hydration, a small portion of silicon in the form of silicic acids (H4SiO4) is weakly soluble and thus become available to plants. Differential Absorption of Silicon by Rice Plants Plants vary in their ability to absorb silicon. Plants that can absorb and accumulate silicon in their tissues are known as silicon accumulators. These plants can accumulate up to 4-7% of silicon in their foliage. In contrary, the silicon non-accumulators can only absorb and store 0.5-1.5% of silicon. In general, dicot plants contain low quantity of silicon. Rice exhibits the greatest uptake of silicic acid in the grass family....