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Silicon distribution and accumulation in shoot tissue of the tropical forage grass Brachiaria brizantha

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Abstract

Silicon (Si) accumulation in organs and cells is one of the most prominent characteristics of plants of the family Poaceae. Many species from this family are used as forage plants for animal feeding. The present study investigates in Brachiaria brizantha (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) Stapf. cv. Marandu: (1) the dry matter production and Si content in shoot due to soil Si fertilizations; (2) the Si distribution among shoot parts; and (3) the silica deposition and localization in leaves. Plants of B. brizantha cv. Marandu were grown under contrasting Si supplies in soil and nutrient solution. Silica deposition and distribution in grass leaf blades were observed using light microscope and scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDXS). Silicon concentration in the B. brizantha shoot increased according to the Si supply. Silicon in grass leaves decreased following the order: mature leaf blades > recently expanded leaf blades > non-expanded leaf blades. Silicon accumulates mainly on the upper (adaxial) epidermis of the grass leaf blades and, especially, on the bulliform cells. The Si distribution on adaxial leaf blade surface is non uniform and reflects a silica deposition exclusively on the cell wall of bulliform cells.

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Acknowledgements

We thank The State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for the research financial support and for providing scholarship to the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UNEMAT—University of Mato Grosso State, Rodovia MT 358 km 7, 78300-000, Tangará da Serra, MT, Brazil

    Suzana P. de Melo

  2. Soil Science Department, ESALQ—University of São Paulo, Av. Pádua Dias 11, P. O. Box 9, 13418-900, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

    Francisco A. Monteiro & Fabiano Daniel De Bona

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  1. Suzana P. de Melo
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  2. Francisco A. Monteiro
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  3. Fabiano Daniel De Bona
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Correspondence to Fabiano Daniel De Bona.

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Responsible Editor: Jian Feng Ma.

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de Melo, S.P., Monteiro, F.A. & De Bona, F.D. Silicon distribution and accumulation in shoot tissue of the tropical forage grass Brachiaria brizantha . Plant Soil 336, 241–249 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0472-5

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