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Enhancing Growth, Yield, and Nutrient Quality of Fodder Maize Through Foliar Application of Ortho Silicic Acid

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Abstract

Purpose

The significance of silicon (Si) in plant nutrition has been debated for many years. Agriculture has overlooked silicon fertilization because of the common belief that soil contains sufficient Si. This has led to neglect of its potential advantages in optimal, stress-free conditions. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of foliar spray of orthosilicic acid (OSA) on the growth, yield, nutrient content, and quality of fodder maize.

Methods

The experiment consisted seven treatments with different concentrations of OSA (0.05%, 0.10%, 0.15%, 0.20%, 0.25%, and 0.30%) were applied at 30 DAS stage along with the recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF 120–26-33 kg N-P-K/ha). RDF without OSA application was used as control.

Results

The results showed that OSA application significantly improved green fodder yield (GFY) and dry fodder yield (DFY). 0.25% OSA concentration resulted in the highest GFY (53.63 t ha−1) and DFY (13.35 t ha−1), which were 10.6% and 45.3% higher over control, respectively. The application of OSA also positively influenced growth parameters such as crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR), dry matter accumulation (DMA), leaf:stem ratio, and physiological parameters including SPAD (chlorophyll content), relative water content (RWC%), and leaf area index (LAI). OSA foliar spray improved the nutrient content and uptake in fodder maize. Nitrogen (N%), potassium (K%), and calcium (Ca%) concentrations were significantly increased with OSA application, while phosphorus (P%) concentration remained unaffected. The uptake of N, P, K, and Ca was significantly higher in the OSA-treated plots, with 0.25% OSA treatment showing the highest nutrient uptake. OSA application improved dry matter (DM%) by 11.3%, crude protein (CP%) 1.3%, total ash (TA%) 3.3%, and lowered neutral detergent fiber (NDF%) 2.0%, and acid detergent fiber (ADF%) 2.7%. Economic analysis revealed that OSA at 0.25% concentration resulted in the highest gross return, net return, and benefit–cost ratio (B:C), indicating its economic viability.

Conclusion

Therefore, foliar spray of OSA, at 0.25% concentration, at 30 DAS improved the growth, yield, nutrient content, and quality of fodder maize. This study highlights the potential of OSA as a beneficial foliar spray for enhancing production and quality of fodder maize.

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Data Availability

Supplementary materials are provided.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge Director, ICAR–National Dairy Research Institute for and ICAR–Central Soil Salinity Research Institute for providing laboratory and field staff facility for completion of this study. The authors also acknowledge ICAR–National Dairy Research Institute for granting fellowship during the study period.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agronomy Section, ICAR–National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India, 132001

    Bisworanjita Biswal, Rakesh Kumar, Rajesh Kumar Meena, Hardev Ram, Suryakanta Kashyap & Subhradip Bhattacharjee

  2. Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, ICAR–Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India, 132001

    Ashwani Kumar

  3. Department Plant Physiology, ICAR–Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India, 132001

    Arvind Kumar Rai

  4. Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, School of Agriculture, GIET University, Rayagada, Gunupur, Odisha, India, 765022

    Rajeswari Das

  5. ICAR–National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad, Telangana, India, 500030

    Kirttiranjan Baral

  6. Department of Agronomy, ICAR–Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India, 110012

    Smruti Ranjan Padhan

  7. Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, 751003

    Biswajit Rana

  8. ICAR–Central Arid Zone Research Institute Regional Research Station, Bikaner, Rajasthan, 334001, India

    Birbal

Authors
  1. Bisworanjita Biswal
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Contributions

Conceptualization, plan of research and lab facility by Bisworanjita Biswal, Rakesh Kumar, Ashwani Kumar, Rajesh Kumar Meena, Hardev Ram and Arvind Kumar Rai. Field and lab experimentation, observation recording, manuscript writing was done by Bisworanjita Biswal. Assistance in lab analysis by Suryankanta Kashyap. Statistical data analysis by Subhradip Bhatacharjee and Kirttiranjan Baral. Manuscript correction by Rajeswari Das and Smrutirekha Pradhan. Formatting and final drafting by Biswajit Rana and Birbal.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rakesh Kumar.

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Biswal, B., Kumar, R., Kumar, A. et al. Enhancing Growth, Yield, and Nutrient Quality of Fodder Maize Through Foliar Application of Ortho Silicic Acid. Silicon 16, 559–571 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-023-02691-1

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