Silicon (Si) and salinity stress on the agronomic performances of bok choy (Brassica rappa L.) in an Entisols

Abstract

Silicon is a beneficial nutrient that has the potential to alleviate the abiotic stress of bok choy grown under salinity stress on entisols. Indonesia has wide areas of entisol soils along its coastline, which could be planted with bok choy. However, salinity conditions pose a problem in entisol soils. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of silicon on the agronomic performance of bok choy grown on an Entisols under salinity stress conditions. This research was conducted at the screen house of the Faculty of Agriculture, Jenderal Soedirman University, from May to August 2019. The experimental design was a completely randomized completely block design (RCBD) consisting of 16 treatments with three replications. The treatments comprised two factors: the dosage of silicon fertilizer, which was 0, 5, 10, or 15 g pot<sup>-1</sup>; and salinity stress, with a level of 0, 1, 2, or 3 dS m<sup>-1 </sup>pot<sup>-1</sup>. Observed variables included plant height (cm), number of leaves (strands), leaf area (cm<sup>2</sup>), fresh shoot weight (g), dry shoot weight (g), fresh root weight (g), dry root weight (g), fresh plant weight (g), and dry plant weight (g). The results showed that the provision of silicon (Si) fertilizer from zeolite and sugarcane bagasse compost (SCB) improved plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, fresh plant weight, and dry plant weight of bok choy plants under salinity stress conditions on entisol soil. At a silicon dosage of 10 g pot<sup>-1</sup>, fresh plant weight (production of bok choy) was 64.18% greater compared to the control. Increasing soil salinity up to 3 dS m<sup>-1</sup> of soil decreased the plant height and number of leaves but did not significantly affect fresh shoot weight, dry shoot weight, fresh plant weight, dry fresh plant weight, fresh root weight, or dry root weight.