PJB-2022-166
ENHANCED PLANT GROWTH OF CHILI (Capsicum annumm L.) BY SILICON NUTRIENT APPLICATION IN FERTIGATION SYSTEM
SUHAIZAN LOB
Abstract
Silicon (Si) is one of the most abundant elements naturally available in soil. This element performs an essential function in improving plant growth especially in biotic and abiotic stress condition. This present study was carried out to evaluate the impact of Si nutrient application on the growth performance of chili (Capsicum annuum L.) Chili plant planted using fertigation system was manually applied with 40 mL Si nutrient solution through root application. Three different Si nutrient concentrations were tested; 1.5 mL/L, 2.5 mL/L, and 5.0 mL/L, while control plants did not receive any Si nutrient. All the treatments were set up with 25 replications under the shade house. The growth performance parameters measured were number of leave, stem diameter, plant height, plant biomass (fresh weight and dry weight) during harvest, and Si accumulation in stem and leave. Results showed that the growth performances of chili plants were significantly affected by the Si application. Application of 5.0mL/L Si nutrient was able to produce the highest stem diameter (8.92mm), fresh weight (129.63g), dry weight (67.23g) as well as Si accumulation in stem (54.29mg/kg). On the other hand, application with 2.5mL/L Si nutrient was also demonstrated the highest plant height (20.98cm), number of leave (27), and Si accumulation in leave (86.95mg/kg). As a conclusion, application of Si nutrient in a range of 2.5-5.0 mL/L were able to enhance the growth performance of crops and could help farmers to reduce the cost of chemical fertilizer used in fertigation systems.
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