Cultivated plants are only able to realize less than 20% of their natural potential to protect themselves against stressors like insects, fungi, diseases, virus attacks, unfavorable climatic conditions, chemical pollution, nutrient deficiency, et al. Plant DNA has evolved to protect against outside stresses that manifest under certain natural conditions at certain times.
Many cultivated plants, given the current accelerated growing season, don’t have enough time or proper natural “triggers” to develop a full-blown innate response to environmental stresses, which are divided into abiotic stress and biotic stress. Abiotic stressors cause major crop losses worldwide and include radiation, salinity, floods, drought, extremes in temperature, heavy metals, etc. On the other hand, attacks by various pathogens such as fungi, bacteria, oomycetes, nematodes and herbivores are classified as biotic stressors. As plants are sessile — that is, fixed in nature, or as my friend Dominique says, plants don’t have legs — they have developed various mechanisms to overcome biotic and abiotic stresses “in place.”
Tapping into the plants’ own inherent defense systems means growers can spend less on costly supplemental inputs. So how do we activate these mechanisms — how do we kick start the plant’s own natural protection system? What we’re discovering is that one of the best ways to activate these natural plant protection mechanisms is to introduce silicon (Si) to the plants. There’s a tremendous amount of data and literature showing that one of the most important functions of silicon in the plant is to reinforce its defense system. The positive influences of silicon on plant growth and development have been documented as far back as 1840 with Justius von Leibigh’s published work about mineral nutrition of plants.
Silicon was long listed as a non-essential component for plant growth and development because of its universal availability (i.e. as sand). However, there has been a resurgence of interest in studying the underlying uptake and transport mechanism for silicon in plants because of the reported dynamic role of silicon in plants under environmental stress. Silicon fertilization has been reported to result in increased soil exchange capacity, improved water and air regimes, transformation of phosphorus-containing minerals and formation of aluminosilicates and heavy metal silicates. Aluminosilicates are minerals comprised of aluminum, oxygen, silicon and positively charged ions providing a host of benefits to the soil. They provide an environmentally friendly way to stimulate plant growth while enhancing plant resistance to multiple stresses. In addition, notably, silicon’s ability to strengthen cell membranes leads to the grinding down of insect chewing mandibles. Finally, studies show that silicon significantly expands plant root growth helping to provide plants with greater access to nutrients and water.
Plants can only absorb Si in the form of soluble monosilicic acid, a non-charged molecule, which is known as plant-available silicon (PAS). The dissolving of Si-rich compounds proceeds fast. So fast in fact, that during one growing season the uptake of Si, and the monosilicic acid concentration in the soil can be restored.
Andaman Ag carries a unique silicon-based seaweed extract called Fertum Silicium PK 0-10-7. As mentioned, Si promotes the transformation of phosphorus to the plant, so the product’s structure is very complimentary to this process. We have seen an increase in the Si in crops where Fertum Silicium PK has been applied. In addition, the seaweed extract bolsters silicon’s natural abiotic stress action. Fertum Silicium PK Seaweed Extract 0-10-7 allows the quick absorption of mineral nutrients because they are combined with natural low molecular weight chelating agents. Fertum Silicium PK Seaweed Extract 0-10-7 is a unique and valuable application to all growers.
