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Silica Application Facilitates Vegetative Growth of Winter Squash (Cucurbita maxima L.) Under Water-Saving Irrigation

Received: 4 April 2022    Accepted: 18 April 2022    Published: 25 April 2022
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Abstract

Silicon (Si) is used to alleviate abiotic stress in plants. Applying siliceous fertilizer in combination with regulated deficit irrigation may reduce water consumption during plant vegetative growth period. In this study, winter squash ‘East Elite’ was irrigated with 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mM SiO2 under a field capacity—that is, the water content of 60% (C60, water-saving irrigation). The SiO2 treatments promoted plant growth including stem diameter, plant height and leaf number; however, the plant growth under water-saving irrigation was slightly (but significantly) lower than that under regular irrigation (C80). Silicon application in the water-saving irrigation can increase the accumulation of fresh and dry weight in the aboveground and underground of plant, but there is no significant difference between the treatments with different concentrations of silicon. Silicon application treatments was significantly higher chlorophyll content (SPAD) than C60, and followed by C80. The SiO2 in the plants increased with increasing SiO2 treatment concentration; however, the difference was nonsignificant. The 1.0 and 1.5 mM treatments increased the leaf transpiration rate and stomatal conductance. The growth of the plants treated with 1.5 mM SiO2 was greater than that of the plants left untreated. The 1.5 mM SiO2 treatment increased the activity of leaf catalase and peroxidase and reduced the leaf malondialdehyde content of the mild water stressed plants. Irrigation with a SiO2 solution in a water-saving irrigation system can stabilize plant growth and increase water use efficiency.

Published in American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry (Volume 10, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajaf.20221002.16
Page(s) 77-84
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Winter Squash, Water-Saving Irrigation, Silicon Application, Plant Growth, Antioxidant Enzyme Activity, Water Use Efficiency

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Li-Cheng Huang, Fu-Yu Yang, Yu Sung. (2022). Silica Application Facilitates Vegetative Growth of Winter Squash (Cucurbita maxima L.) Under Water-Saving Irrigation. American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 10(2), 77-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20221002.16

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    ACS Style

    Li-Cheng Huang; Fu-Yu Yang; Yu Sung. Silica Application Facilitates Vegetative Growth of Winter Squash (Cucurbita maxima L.) Under Water-Saving Irrigation. Am. J. Agric. For. 2022, 10(2), 77-84. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20221002.16

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    AMA Style

    Li-Cheng Huang, Fu-Yu Yang, Yu Sung. Silica Application Facilitates Vegetative Growth of Winter Squash (Cucurbita maxima L.) Under Water-Saving Irrigation. Am J Agric For. 2022;10(2):77-84. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20221002.16

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajaf.20221002.16,
      author = {Li-Cheng Huang and Fu-Yu Yang and Yu Sung},
      title = {Silica Application Facilitates Vegetative Growth of Winter Squash (Cucurbita maxima L.) Under Water-Saving Irrigation},
      journal = {American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry},
      volume = {10},
      number = {2},
      pages = {77-84},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajaf.20221002.16},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20221002.16},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajaf.20221002.16},
      abstract = {Silicon (Si) is used to alleviate abiotic stress in plants. Applying siliceous fertilizer in combination with regulated deficit irrigation may reduce water consumption during plant vegetative growth period. In this study, winter squash ‘East Elite’ was irrigated with 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mM SiO2 under a field capacity—that is, the water content of 60% (C60, water-saving irrigation). The SiO2 treatments promoted plant growth including stem diameter, plant height and leaf number; however, the plant growth under water-saving irrigation was slightly (but significantly) lower than that under regular irrigation (C80). Silicon application in the water-saving irrigation can increase the accumulation of fresh and dry weight in the aboveground and underground of plant, but there is no significant difference between the treatments with different concentrations of silicon. Silicon application treatments was significantly higher chlorophyll content (SPAD) than C60, and followed by C80. The SiO2 in the plants increased with increasing SiO2 treatment concentration; however, the difference was nonsignificant. The 1.0 and 1.5 mM treatments increased the leaf transpiration rate and stomatal conductance. The growth of the plants treated with 1.5 mM SiO2 was greater than that of the plants left untreated. The 1.5 mM SiO2 treatment increased the activity of leaf catalase and peroxidase and reduced the leaf malondialdehyde content of the mild water stressed plants. Irrigation with a SiO2 solution in a water-saving irrigation system can stabilize plant growth and increase water use efficiency.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Silica Application Facilitates Vegetative Growth of Winter Squash (Cucurbita maxima L.) Under Water-Saving Irrigation
    AU  - Li-Cheng Huang
    AU  - Fu-Yu Yang
    AU  - Yu Sung
    Y1  - 2022/04/25
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20221002.16
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajaf.20221002.16
    T2  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    JF  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    JO  - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry
    SP  - 77
    EP  - 84
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8591
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20221002.16
    AB  - Silicon (Si) is used to alleviate abiotic stress in plants. Applying siliceous fertilizer in combination with regulated deficit irrigation may reduce water consumption during plant vegetative growth period. In this study, winter squash ‘East Elite’ was irrigated with 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mM SiO2 under a field capacity—that is, the water content of 60% (C60, water-saving irrigation). The SiO2 treatments promoted plant growth including stem diameter, plant height and leaf number; however, the plant growth under water-saving irrigation was slightly (but significantly) lower than that under regular irrigation (C80). Silicon application in the water-saving irrigation can increase the accumulation of fresh and dry weight in the aboveground and underground of plant, but there is no significant difference between the treatments with different concentrations of silicon. Silicon application treatments was significantly higher chlorophyll content (SPAD) than C60, and followed by C80. The SiO2 in the plants increased with increasing SiO2 treatment concentration; however, the difference was nonsignificant. The 1.0 and 1.5 mM treatments increased the leaf transpiration rate and stomatal conductance. The growth of the plants treated with 1.5 mM SiO2 was greater than that of the plants left untreated. The 1.5 mM SiO2 treatment increased the activity of leaf catalase and peroxidase and reduced the leaf malondialdehyde content of the mild water stressed plants. Irrigation with a SiO2 solution in a water-saving irrigation system can stabilize plant growth and increase water use efficiency.
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Horticulture, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan

  • Department of Horticulture, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan

  • Department of Horticulture, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan

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