Abstract
Considered a “stress nutrient”, silicon has been reported to provide beneficial effects to plants grown under biotic and abiotic stresses. The mechanisms considered are either an accumulation of absorbed silicon in the epidermal tissue, or an expression of metabolic or pathogenesis-mediated host defense responses. In the case of silicon nutrition, plants are considered silicon accumulators or non-accumulators. It is commonly accepted that accumulators can benefit from silicon, but studies have shown that non-accumulators can sometimes benefit from silicon nutrition when under stress on a case-by-case basis. The objective of this dissertation study was to reveal the potential beneficial effects of silicon nutrition on three hydroponically grown silicon non-accumulator vegetable species, lettuce, bok choy, and basil, representing the common leafy green families of Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, and Lamiaceae. None, low and high levels of silicon (0, 25 and 75 ppm) were added to the hydroponic nutrient solution. The plants were grown under temperature stresses (heat stress to lettuce and bok choy, and cold stress to basil), cut-and-grow-back stresses (lettuce, bok choy and basil), and biotic stresses (lettuce powdery mildew, simulated insect chewing on bok choy, and basil downy mildew). Plant growth, stress responses, and tissue nutrient analysis (including silicon) were evaluated. When grown under heat stress, silicon treatments failed to provide any beneficial effects for lettuce and bok choy. Basil grown under cold stress benefited from silicon treatments resulting in increased cold hardiness and improved survival rates after rates after a single frost event. Lettuce, bok choy, and basil grown under temperature stresses absorbed silicon in small quantities. The cut and grow back treatment did not result in silicon accumulation in lettuce, bok choy, and basil. The lettuce powdery mildew experiments failed due to the inability to establish sufficient disease pressure. The mechanical wounding treatment (representing insect chewing damage) in bok choy did not result in enhanced Si accumulation. For basil exposed to downy mildew, silicon treatments marginally increased the disease resistance without enhancing silicon accumulation. For most of the experiments, Si nutrition did not alter the content of other macro- and micro nutrients in both shoots and roots of lettuce, bok choy and basil. Future experiments are needed to evaluate the feasibility of using silicon as an effective BDM control agent for commercial growers. This dissertation research provided valuable information for understanding the physiology of silicon in non-accumulator plant species, and its potential beneficial effects for non-accumulator crops.
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Claims 14
Claim · model-written summary
Silicon gave no beneficial effect to heat-stressed lettuce.
- Taxon
- lettuce
Lactuca sativae0 - Treatment
- silicon treatmentse0
- Outcome
- beneficial effectse0
- Direction
- failed to providee0
- Qualifier
- heat stresse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“When grown under heat stress, silicon treatments failed to provide any beneficial effects for lettuce and bok choy”
Claim · model-written summary
Silicon gave no beneficial effect to heat-stressed bok choy.
- Taxon
- bok choy
.jpg?width=60)
Brassica rapa subsp. chinensise0 - Treatment
- silicon treatmentse0
- Outcome
- beneficial effectse0
- Direction
- failed to providee0
- Qualifier
- heat stresse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“When grown under heat stress, silicon treatments failed to provide any beneficial effects for lettuce and bok choy”
Claim · model-written summary
Under cold stress, silicon increased basil cold hardiness.
- Taxon
- Basil
Ocimum basilicume0 - Treatment
- silicon treatmentse0
- Outcome
- cold hardinesse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- cold stresse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Basil grown under cold stress benefited from silicon treatments resulting in increased cold hardiness and improved survival rates after rates after a single frost event”
Claim · model-written summary
Under cold stress, silicon improved basil survival following a frost event.
- Taxon
- BasilOcimum basilicume0
- Treatment
- silicon treatmentse0
- Outcome
- survival ratese0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Qualifier
- a single frost evente0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Basil grown under cold stress benefited from silicon treatments resulting in increased cold hardiness and improved survival rates after rates after a single frost event”
Claim · model-written summary
Temperature-stressed lettuce absorbed a small quantity of silicon.
- Taxon
- LettuceLactuca sativae0
- Outcome
- absorbed silicon in small quantitiese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Lettuce, bok choy, and basil grown under temperature stresses absorbed silicon in small quantities”
Claim · model-written summary
Temperature-stressed bok choy absorbed a small quantity of silicon.
- Taxon
- bok choyBrassica rapa subsp. chinensise0
- Outcome
- absorbed silicon in small quantitiese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Lettuce, bok choy, and basil grown under temperature stresses absorbed silicon in small quantities”
Claim · model-written summary
Temperature-stressed basil absorbed a small quantity of silicon.
- Taxon
- basilOcimum basilicume0
- Outcome
- absorbed silicon in small quantitiese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Lettuce, bok choy, and basil grown under temperature stresses absorbed silicon in small quantities”
Claim · model-written summary
Cut and grow back did not produce silicon accumulation in lettuce.
- Taxon
- lettuceLactuca sativae0
- Treatment
- cut and grow back treatmente0
- Outcome
- silicon accumulatione0
- Direction
- did not resulte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The cut and grow back treatment did not result in silicon accumulation in lettuce, bok choy, and basil”
Claim · model-written summary
Cut and grow back did not produce silicon accumulation in bok choy.
- Taxon
- bok choyBrassica rapa subsp. chinensise0
- Treatment
- cut and grow back treatmente0
- Outcome
- silicon accumulatione0
- Direction
- did not resulte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The cut and grow back treatment did not result in silicon accumulation in lettuce, bok choy, and basil”
Claim · model-written summary
Cut and grow back did not produce silicon accumulation in basil.
- Taxon
- basilOcimum basilicume0
- Treatment
- cut and grow back treatmente0
- Outcome
- silicon accumulatione0
- Direction
- did not resulte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The cut and grow back treatment did not result in silicon accumulation in lettuce, bok choy, and basil”
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical wounding did not enhance silicon accumulation in bok choy.
- Taxon
- bok choyBrassica rapa subsp. chinensise0
- Treatment
- mechanical wounding treatmente0
- Outcome
- Si accumulatione0
- Direction
- did not result in enhancede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The mechanical wounding treatment (representing insect chewing damage) in bok choy did not result in enhanced Si accumulation”
Claim · model-written summary
Silicon marginally increased basil resistance to downy mildew.
- Taxon
- basilOcimum basilicume0
- Treatment
- silicon treatmentse0
- Interactor
- downy mildewPeronosporaceaee0pathogen
- Outcome
- disease resistancee0
- Direction
- marginally increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“For basil exposed to downy mildew, silicon treatments marginally increased the disease resistance without enhancing silicon accumulation”
Claim · model-written summary
Silicon did not enhance accumulation in basil exposed to downy mildew.
- Taxon
- basilOcimum basilicume0
- Treatment
- silicon treatmentse0
- Interactor
- downy mildewPeronosporaceaee0pathogen
- Outcome
- silicon accumulatione0
- Direction
- without enhancinge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“For basil exposed to downy mildew, silicon treatments marginally increased the disease resistance without enhancing silicon accumulation”
Claim · model-written summary
In most experiments silicon did not alter other macro- and micronutrient content in shoots and roots of the three crops.
- Taxon
- lettuce, bok choy and basilLactuca sativaOcimum basilicumBrassica rapa subsp. chinensise0
- Organ / stage
- shoots and rootse0
- Treatment
- Si nutritione0
- Outcome
- content of other macro- and micro nutrientse0
- Direction
- did not altere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“For most of the experiments, Si nutrition did not alter the content of other macro- and micro nutrients in both shoots and roots of lettuce, bok choy and basil”
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See all 10 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.