Investigating the role of Si as a biostimulant in hydroponic production systems

Sammanfattning

The global population is growing, and current food production needs to keep up. This is harder when we are experiencing environmental stresses and land degradation. These challenges led growers to choose greenhouse and soilless cultivation methods, such as hydroponics. However, even these systems are susceptible to stressors that negatively affect the plant. For this reason, biostimulants and performance-enhancing products are being used to improve plant responses under stressful conditions. Silicon is a biostimulant that has the potential to improve the growth, physiology, and yield of several crops. In this study, the aim was to investigate how silicon would behave when supplied to tomato and pea plants, in both stressed and non-stressed conditions. The results showed that silicon had positive effects on both crops, but the effects varied in intensity by crop, concentration, stress level, and application method. Higher concentrations do not necessarily yield better results, and lower concentrations can yield comparable or better results. In tomato plants, the effects of a current market product, Actisil, were also investigated. Actisil tended to form a gel-like layer in the nutrient solution, resulting in inhibition of all studied parameters. This study may provide insight into dose-dependent effects in tomato and pea crops in hydroponic systems.