Plant Resilience: The role of silica in enhancing the control of abiotic stress
Deposition of Si in plants is influenced by the transpiration rate, with higher rates
leading to greater accumulation in leaves compared to fruits. Si has been found to decrease
the potency of crop diseases, particularly those related to wilting, by accumulating in plant
cell walls and stimulating defense enzymes. Additionally, Si has been shown to improve plant
growth and increase antioxidant activities. These findings support the notion that the
observed increase in antioxidant activity and plant growth parameters in this study can be
attributed to the high Si content in SMS. Use of SMS in various applications, such as animal
feed, biofertilizer, wastewater treatment, and composting. In this study, a novel
bioformulation (TF-I) containing Si-rich SMS was developed as an innovative alternative to
address waste management and replace chemical-based products in agriculture.
Figure 4: Presence of silicon in plants protects against abiotic stresses (Verma et al., 2020).
While advancements in microbial/plant-based formulations have provided alternatives
to chemical pesticides and fertilizers, challenges remain in terms of quality, availability, and
long-term evaluation. Other proposed technologies, such as composting of municipal/kitchen
waste, have shown potential in controlling phytopathogens and acting as soil fertilizer but are
hindered by issues such as attracting pests, emitting greenhouse gases, and causing foodborne
illness. The use of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) and Biological Control
Agents (BCAs) in solid and submerged state fermentation has been extensively explored for
the development of bioformulations (Singh et al., 2021) . The recognition and realization of
the significance of silicon in conferring tolerance and avoidance to abiotic stresses in plants is
imperative. Silicon serves as a physio-mechanical barrier in crop plants by being deposited in
the cell walls and exerting a positive influence on the physiological and metabolic
mechanisms, particularly in plants exposed to environmental stress conditions. Understanding
of the interactions between sugarcane crop and silicon, through a deeper knowledge of Sugar
Tech, would facilitate the mitigation of environmental stresses and potentially enhance
predictions concerning the plant's performance and productivity (Verma et al., 2020).
The present study investigated the impact of drought on various molecular and
physiological aspects of wheat plants, including oxidative damage to photosynthetic
pigments, protein and lipids, enzyme activities and photosynthesis. The experiment involved
growing wheat plants in pots with or without the application of silicon under drought
conditions. Three treatments were used, each with three replicates: control (CK), drought
(DR), and drought + silicon (DSi). Drought stress was induced by maintaining 50% of
relative water content in the drought treatments, while the control treatment had 75% relative
water content. The assays were performed on the most recent fully expanded leaves. The
results revealed that the application of silicon enhanced the water status of drought-stressed
plants. Compared to the non-silicon treatment, silicon application increased the activities of
certain antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione reductase), the
unsaturation of lipids and the levels of photosynthetic pigments, soluble proteins, and total
thiols under drought conditions (Ma, 2004).
Silicon application reduced the levels of hydrogen peroxide, the activity of acid
phospholipase, and the oxidative stress of proteins compared to the non-silicon treatments
under drought. The activities of glycolate oxidase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase
showed no significant difference between the drought and drought + silicon treatments
(Alam et al., 2020)
.
Table 2: Response of silicon supplementation against abiotic stresses (Verma et al., 2020).
Furthermore, silicon application increased the net CO 2 assimilation rate of wheat leaves under
drought stress. These findings suggest that the improvement in drought tolerance observed in
wheat plants treated with silicon is associated with enhanced antioxidant defence
mechanisms, which mitigate the oxidative damage caused by excessive production of reactive
oxygen species under drought conditions. Moreover, the study suggests that silicon may play
a role in the metabolic and physiological activities of higher plants under drought stress,
which aligns with previous research conducted on salt-stressed plants (Gong et al., 2005).
