Effect of Silicon through Potassium Silicate on Yield, Nutrient Uptake and Quality of Grand Naine Banana

Abstract

-Field experiment was conducted in Farmers holding located at Rajagopalapuram village under Kuttalam taluk, Mayiladuthurai district, Tamilnadu, India belonging to Padugai series (Typic ustifluvent) low in available silicon to elucidate the response of banana in terms of yield, nutrition and quality due to silicon nutrition applied through potassium silicate. The treatment consists of T1 NPK (RDF), T2 NPK + Potassium silicate (FS) 0.25%, T3NPK + Potassium silicate (FS) 0.50%, T4 NPK + Potassium silicate (FS) 1.00%, T5 NPK + Potassium silicate (FS) 0.25%, T6 NPK + Potassium silicate (FS) 0.50%, T7 NPK + Potassium silicate (FS) 1.00%, T8 NPK + Potassium silicate (SA) 50 kg ha, T9 NPK + Potassium silicate (SA) 100 kg ha and T10 NPK + Potassium silicate (SA) – 150 kg ha. From T2 to T4 foliar spray was done at 3 and 5 month and from T5 to T7, foliar spray was done at 3, 5 and 7 month. The test crop is Banana Var. Grand Naine. The results showed that the highest fruit yield was noticed with 50 kg Si ha (96.0 t ha) and it reduced with Si levels. Among foliar treatments, fruit yield increased with silicon concentrations (0.25 to 1%). The highest fruit yield was observed with 1% Si applied at 3 and 5 month (92.7 t ha). Foliar spray of 0.25 and 0.5% Si applied thrice increased the fruit yield compared to twice application at same concentration. But fruit yield declined when Si was sprayed at 1% thrice. Soil application of silicon recorded higher nutrient uptake over foliar addition. The nutrient uptake was maximum with 150 kg Si ha. With respect to foliar treatments, the highest uptake was noticed with foliar spray of 1% Si applied at 3 and 5 month. Soil application of 50 kg Si ha recorded the highest fruit quality viz., TSS, total sugars, reducing and non-reducing sugar and leaf protein. The highest fruit quality was noticed with foliar spray of 1% Si applied at 3rd and 5th month. Keywords--silicon, banana yield, quality, uptake ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. I.INTRODUCTION Silicon is the most abundant element in the earth’s crust region next to oxygen and comprises 28% of its weight, 3-17% in soil solution (Epstein, 1999). Silicon is mostly commonly found in soils in the form of solution as silicic acid (H2SiO2) and plants take up directly as silicic acid [16]. Silicon concentration in plants offers a large variability ranging from 0.1 to 10 per cent dry weight depending upon species [5 & 9]. Silicon has a key role in plant environment relationship because it can improve plant abilities to withstand edaphic climatic and/ or biological adversities by acting as a “Natural antistress” mechanism that enables higher yields and better quality end product [4 & 25]. Adequate nutrition of silicon interferes in the plant architecture by providing more erect leaves, increasing solar radiation interception and photosynthetic efficiency [24 & 2]. The ability of silicon accumulation in tissue varies among species which may be classified into accumulator (>4% Si) intermediate (2-4% Si) and non-accumulator of Si (<2% Si) [15]. Silicon can be applied to plants directly to the leaves (foliar spray) or in granular form which is incorporated into soil before planting. Methods of fertilizer application have modifying effects on Si plant growth [18]. Banana botanically belongs to family Musasceae. It contains about 74% water, 23% carbohydrate, 1% protein and 0.5% fat and also a source of vitamins. Banana is the fifth largest agricultural commodity in the world trade after cereals, sugar, coffee and cocoa and second largest fruit crop in the world. Tamilnadu has the largest area of 0.12 Mha and the Asian Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences (ISSN: 2321 – 1571) Volume 9 – Issue 3, June 2021 Asian Online Journals (www.ajouronline.com) 92 production of 0.82MT and productivity of 52.5 mt/ha [22]. Banana owing to its large size and rapid growth rate require relatively larger amount of nutrients for high yields of quality fruits. Little is known of silicon in banana. Silicon concentration in young plants ranges from 0.7 to 3.8 per cent [10]. Silicon concentration in banana roots is able to induce silicate dissolution thereby releasing silicon availability in the rhizosphere [8]. Henriet et al. (2006) [7] reported Si concentration and uptake in banana increased with silica supply. The plants are known to produce phytoliths (discrete silicon deposits) in the leaves and pseudostem, which persist in the soil long after plant death, leading to their use in archaeological studies to track the cultivation and consumption of banana [13]. When silicon is present in the soil solution at high concentrations, banana plants absorb it passively but switch to active uptake via theoretical transporters when concentrations are low [6]. Banana plants have been used as a model to study biogeochemical silicon cycling by comparing 28Si and 29Si isotope absorption [23]. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1. Location of study The field experiments were conducted in the farmer’s holding located at Rajagopalapuram village under Kuttalam taluk, Mayiladuthurai district, Tamilnadu, India. The experimental field is geographically situated 11.10°N and 79.67°E at an altitude of 16 m above mean sea level. 2.2. Experimental soil The experimental soil is sandy clay loam in texture belongs to Padugai series (Typic Ustifluvent) with soil pH7.39, EC0.24 dSm, soil organic carbon3.5 g kg, KMnO4-N260 kgha( low), Olsen-P20.2 kgha (high), NH4OAc-K( 251 kg ha( medium) and available silicon – 29 mg kg( low) 2.3. Treatment structure and design The experiment for banana was laid out in randomized block design with ten treatments in three replications. The treatment consists of T1 NPK (RDF), T2 NPK + Potassium silicate (FS) 0.25%, T3NPK + Potassium silicate (FS) 0.50%, T4 NPK + Potassium silicate (FS) 1.00%, T5 NPK + Potassium silicate (FS) 0.25%, T6 NPK + Potassium silicate (FS) 0.50%, T7 NPK + Potassium silicate (FS) 1.00%, T8 NPK + Potassium silicate (SA) 50 kg ha, T9 NPK + Potassium silicate (SA) 100 kg ha and T10 NPK + Potassium silicate (SA) – 150 kg ha. From T2 to T4 foliar spray was done at 3 and 5 month and from T5 to T7, foliar spray was done at 3, 5 and 7 month. The test crop is Banana Var. Grand Naine.