Improving rice growth and yield with silicon addition in Oxisols

Abstract

The addition of beneficial nutrients as silicon (Si) has become a concern in rice cultivation in some countries. However, it is not fully adopted in Indonesia. It is known that Si plays an important role on improving plant resistance on biotic and abiotic stresses. A pot experiment was conducted to study the response of rice plant growth on Si addition in Oxisols. A completely randomized design was set with eight treatments as varying Si rates (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700 kg SiO2 ha-1) and three replications. Some variables were observed as plant height, number of tillers, stem strength, lodging resistance, biomass and yield components. Related to stem strength and lodging resistance, the observation was conducted prior to harvest. The results showed that initial soil Si available was 264 mg SiO2 kg-1 and categorized below the critical level. Si application showed significant effect on increasing number of tillers, stem strength, lodging resistance and the yield which occurred at 700 kg SiO2 ha-1 treatments. The rice yield increase by 34.66% at 700 kg SiO2 ha-1 treatments compared to control. This current result showed that addition of Si fertilizer has showed the effect on improving rice growth and yield in Oxisols.