Despite its abundance—second only to oxygen in Earth’s crust—Silicon is still overlooked in many crop nutrition programs. It’s not yet classified as an “essential” nutrient for most plants, but this perspective needs to change or at least shift, given its extensive list of benefits for plants as one of Earth’s core elements.
The life of a plant, much like that of any other organism, is intricately dependent on the intake and transport of essential nutrients. These nutrients, absorbed predominantly from the soil, are fundamental to the plant’s growth, development, and metabolic functions.
I wrote this newsletter back in late October 2019. It came up this week from one of our suppliers as he had just purchased my book. Thank you, Travis, my friend, as it’s worth repeating.
All plants require 17 elements to complete their life cycle. Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are obtained from the air and water. Plants derive the remaining 14 elements from the soil, which is often enriched with fertilizers and amendments. Plant growth and development largely depend on the combination and concentration of available mineral nutrients.
There is lots of talk these days about carbon and how to manage it, especially when it comes to carbon in our atmosphere. Over the centuries, humans have expanded their carbon emissions as societies have advanced, resulting in more carbon in the atmosphere which leads to climate change.
It’s important to think about plants as being incredibly adroit at adapting to changing conditions and consider how we can best support them as they try to function efficiently.