Physiological responses of beet plants irrigated with saline water and silicon application

Abstract

Although not considered an essential element, silicon can be used to increase crop productivity, especially under stress conditions. In this sense, the objective was to evaluate the gas exchange of beet plants irrigated with saline water depending on the application of silicon. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design, in a 5 x 5 factorial, referring to five levels of electrical conductivity of irrigation water (ECw): (0.5; 1.3; 3.25; 5.2 and 6.0 dS m-1) and five doses of silicon (0.00; 2.64; 9.08; 15.52 and 18.16 mL L-1), with six beet plants as an experimental unit. The effect of treatments on beet culture was evaluated at 30 and 60 days after irrigation with saline water from measurements of internal carbon concentration, stomatal conductance, net photosynthesis rate, instantaneous water use efficiency and instantaneous carboxylation efficiency using the LCpro+Sistem infrared gas analyzer (IRGA). Irrigation with saline water reduced the gas exchange of beet plants at 60 days after irrigation, but at 30 days after irrigation, the use of saline water increased stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and internal carbon concentration. The application of silicon decreased stomatal conductance, internal carbon concentration and efficiency in the use of water, but increased the rate of net photosynthesis, the rate of transpiration and instantaneous efficiency of carboxylation at 30 and 60 days after irrigation.

Influence of organic fertilizers and silicon on the physiology, yield, and nutraceutical quality of the strawberry crop

“…En otro cultivo Cao et al (2013) quienes encontraron que a 0.6 mM y 1.2 mM de silicio en tomate cultivado hidropónicamente, el contenido de pigmentos fotosintéticos (clorofila a y b), la tasa fotosintética y la eficiencia del uso instantáneo del agua, tienden a aumentaron en las dos concentraciones, mientras que la tasa de transpiración de la hoja tiende a disminuir. Así mismo De Melo Filho et al (2020) reportaron que la aplicación de silicio en plantas de remolacha disminuye la conductancia estomática. Esto tal vez debido a que el Silicio se deposita en las paredes celulares de los vasos del xilema y en el tejido epidérmico de las hojas que protege los tejidos vegetales contra la pérdida excesiva de agua por transpiración debido a una reducción en el diámetro de los poros estomáticos reduciendo así la transpiración (SEPHU, 2009).…”