Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Physiological Parameters of Silicon-Treated Maize Under Salt Stress Conditions

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Silicon Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The effects of silicon (Si) on Zea mays under salt stress conditions were investigated and the data was analyzed by cluster heat maps. The results indicated that the application of Si in salt-stressed plants significantly increased fresh and dry weight, chlorophyll b, carotenoids and reduced sugar, and decreased proline contents. In addition, Si decreased the APX (ascorbate peroxidase) and SOD (superoxide dismutase) activities under salt stress conditions but significantly increased CAT (catalase) activity. The application of Si under salt stress conditions decreased the Na, Ca, Fe, and K contents of plants and increased Mg translocation from the root to shoots. Therefore, alleviation effects of Si under salt stress conditions, at least in parts, may be related to increases of reduced sugar and pigment content, increase of CAT activity as an antioxidant enzyme, and decrease of Na content in maize. Decreases of the SOD and APX activities and the proline content of plants, when Si was added to NaCl-treated plants, showed the favorable role of Si in mitigating the adverse effects of salt stress.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ma JF, Yamaji N, Mitani-Ueno N (2011) Transport of silicon from roots to panicles in plants. Proc Jpn Acad Ser B 87(7):377–385

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ma JF, Yamaji N (2008) Functions and transport of silicon in plants. Cell Mol Life Sci 65:3049–3057

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Snyder HG, Matichenkov VV, Datnoff EL (2006). In: Barker AV, Pilbeam DJ (eds) Handbook of Plant Nutrition, CRC Press

  4. Munns R, Tester M (2008) Mechanisms of salinity tolerance. Annu Rev Plant Biol 59:651–681

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Ouda SAE, Mohamed SG, Khalil FA (2008) Modeling the effect of different stress conditions on maize productivity using yield-stress model. Int J Nat Eng Sci 2(1):57–62

    Google Scholar 

  6. Tuna AL, Kaya C, Higgs D, Murillo-Amador B, Aydemir S, Girgin AR (2008) Silicon improves salinity tolerance in wheat plants. Environ Exp Bot 62(1):1016

    Google Scholar 

  7. Xie Z, Song R, Shao H, Song F, Xu H, Lu Y (2015) Silicon improves maize photosynthesis in saline-alkaline soils. Scientific World Journal Volume 2015, Article ID 245072

  8. Lee SK, Sohn EY, Hamayun M, Yoon JY, Lee IJ (2010) Effect of silicon on growth and salinity stress of soybean plant grown under hydroponic system. Agrofor Syst 80:333–340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Liang YC, Shen QR, Shen ZG, Ma TS (1996) Effects of silicon on salinity tolerance of two barley cultivars. J Plant Nutr 19:173–183

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Zuccarini P (2008) Effects of silicon on photosynthesis, water relations and nutrient uptake of Phaseolus vulgaris under NaCl stress. Biol Plant 52(1):157–160

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Saqib M, Zorb C, Schubert S (2008) Silicon-mediated improvement in the salt resistance of wheat (Triticum aestivum) results from increased sodium exclusion and resistance to oxidative stress. Funct Plant Biol 35:633–639

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Liang YC, Chen Q, Liu Q, Zhang WH, Ding RX (2003) Exogenous silicon (Si) increases antioxidant enzyme activity and reduces lipid peroxidation in roots of salt stressed barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) J Plant Physiol 160:1157–1164

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Xia J, Sinelnikov I, Han B, Wishart DS (2015) MetaboAnalyst 3.0 –making metabolomics more meaningful. Nucleic Acids Res 2015: 1. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkv380

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Hewitt EJ (1966) Sand and water culture methods used in the study of plant nutrition. Common wealth Bureaux, England

    Google Scholar 

  15. Bates LS, Waldren RP, Teare ID (1973) Rapid determination of free proline for water stress studies. Plant Soil 39:205–207

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Somogyi M (1952) Notes on sugar estimation. J Biol Chem 195:19–23

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Porra RJ, Thampson WA, Kriedelman PE (1989) Determination of accurate extraction and simultaneously equation for assaying chlorophyll a and b extracted with different solvents: verification of the concentration of chlorophyll standards by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Biochim Biophys Acta 975:384–394

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Holm G (1954) Chlorophyll mutations in barley. Acta Agric Scand 4:457–461

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Nakano Y, Asada K (1981) Hydrogen peroxide is scavenged by ascorbate-specific peroxidase in spinach chloroplasts. Plant Cell Physiol 22:867–880

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Giannopolitis CN, Ries SK (1977) Superoxide dismutase Occurrence in higher plants. Plant Physiol 59:309–314

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Aebi H (1984) Catalase in vitro. Method Enzymol 105:121–126

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Basitas EL, Gonzalez-Moro MB, Gonzales-Murua C (2004) Zea mays L. amylacea from the Lita Valley (Arica- Chile) tolerates salinity stress when high levels of boron are available. Plant Soil 267:73–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Haghighi M, Afifipour Z, Mozafarian M (2012) The alleviation effect of silicon on seed germination and seedling growth of tomato under salinity stress. Vegetable Crops Research Buelltin 76:119–126

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Farooq MA, Saqib ZA, Akhtar J, Bakhat HF, Pasala RK, Dietz KJ (2015) Protective role of silicon (Si) against combined stress of salinity and boron (B) toxicity by improving antioxidant enzymes activity in rice. Silicon. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-015-9346-z https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-015-9346-z

  25. Moussa HR (2006) Influence of exogenous application of silicon on physiological response of salt-stressed maize (Zea mays L.) Int J Agric Biol 8(2):293–297

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Shen X, Zhou Y, Duan L, Li Z, Eneji A E, Li J (2010) Silicon effects on photosynthesis and antioxidant parameters of soybean seedlings under drought and ultraviolet-B radiation. J Plant Physiol 167:1248–1252

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Liang YC (1998) Effects of Si on leaf ultrastructure, chlorophyll content and photosynthetic activity in barley under salt stress. Pedosphere 8:289–96

    Google Scholar 

  28. Silva ON, Lobato AKS, Ávila FW, Costa RCL, Oliveira-Neto CF, Santos Filho BG, Martins Filho AP, Lemos RP, Pinho JM, Medeiros MBCL, Cardoso MS, Andrade IP (2012) Silicon-induced increase in chlorophyll is modulated by the leaf water potential in two water-deficient tomato cultivars. Plant Soil Environ 58(11):481–486

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Balakhnina T, Borkowska A (2013) Effects of silicon on plant resistance to environmental stresses: review. Int Agrophys 27:225–232

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Watanabe S, Fujiwara T, Yoneyama T, Hayashi H (2002) Effects of silicon nutrition on metabolism and translocation of nutrients in rice plants. Dev Plant Soil Sci 92:174–175

    Google Scholar 

  31. Avila F W, Baliza DP, Faquin V, Araujo J, Ramos S J (2010) Silicon-nitrogen interaction in rice cultivated under nutrient solution. Revista Ciencia Agronomica 41:184–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Lobato AKS, Guedes EMS, Marques DJ, Neto CFO (2013) Silicon: A benefic element to improve tolerance in plants exposed to water deficiency. InTech

  33. Zhu Z, Wei G, Li J, Qian Q, Yu J (2004) Silicon alleviates salt stress and increases antioxidant enzymes activity in leaves of salt-stressed cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) Plant Sci 167(3):527–533

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Simkova L, Fialova I, Vaculikova M, Luxova M (2016) The effect of silicon on the activity and isozymes pattern of antioxidative enzymes of young maize roots under zinc stress. Silicon. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-015-9376-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Hashemi A, Abdolzadeh A, Sadeghipour HR (2010) Beneficial effects of silicon nutrition in alleviating salinity stress in hydroponically grown canola, Brassica napus L., plants. Soil Sci and Plant Nutr 56(2):244–253

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Gong HJ, Randall DP, Flowers TJ (2006) Silicon deposition in the root reduces sodium uptake in rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings by reducing bypass flow. Plant Cell Environ 29:1970–1979

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Liang YC (1999) Effects of silicon on enzyme activity and sodium, potassium and calcium concentration in barley under salt stress. Plant Soil 209:217–224

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Liang YC, Zhang WH, Chen Q, Liu YL, Ding RX (2006) Effect of exogenous silicon (Si) on H+-ATPase activity, phospholipids and fluidity of plasma membrane in leaves of salt-stressed barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Environ Exp Bot 57:212–219

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Mali M, Aery NC (2008) Influence of silicon on growth, relative water contents and uptake of silicon, calcium and potassium in wheat grown in nutrient solution. J Plant Nutr 31:1867– 1876

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Sahebi M, Hanafi MM, Nor Akmar AS, Rafii MY, Azizi P, Tengoua FF (2015) Importance of Silicon and Mechanisms of Biosilica Formation in Plants. BioMed Research International, Shabanimofrad, M. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/396010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Gonzalo MJ, Lucena JJ, Hernández-Apaolaza L (2013) Effect of silicon addition on soybean (Glycine max) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus) plants grown under iron deficiency. Plant Physiol Biochem 70:455–461

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Ma JF, Takahashi E (2002) Soil, fertiliser, and plant silicon research in Japan. Elsevier, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  43. Wallace A (1993) Participation of silicon in cation–anion balance as a possible mechanism for aluminum and iron tolerance in some Gramineae. J Plant Nutr 16:547–553

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Gao X, Zou C, Wang L, Zhang F (2004) Silicon improves water use efficiency of maize plant. J Plant Nutr 27:1457–1470

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Yeo AR, Flowers SA, Rao G, Welfare K, Senanayake N, Flowers TJ (1999) Silicon reduces sodium uptake in rice (Oryza sativa L.) in saline conditions and this is accounted for by a reduction in the transpirational bypass flow. Plant Cell Environ 22:559– 565

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Plant Stress Center of Excellence (PSCE) at the University of Isfahan.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Ashtian Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ashtian, Iran

    Kourosh Delavar

  2. Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Biological Science, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), POB:14115-154, Tehran, Iran

    Faezeh Ghanati & Hassan Zare-Maivan

  3. Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biological Science, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), POB:14115-154, Tehran, Iran

    Mehrdad Behmanesh

Authors
  1. Kourosh Delavar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Faezeh Ghanati
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mehrdad Behmanesh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hassan Zare-Maivan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Faezeh Ghanati.

Additional information

The manuscript is an original MS based on our new findings. The MS is sending to this journal for the first time, and has not been previously published nor is currently considered under revision by other journals. There is no conflict of interest, as well.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Delavar, K., Ghanati, F., Behmanesh, M. et al. Physiological Parameters of Silicon-Treated Maize Under Salt Stress Conditions. Silicon 10, 2585–2592 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-018-9794-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-018-9794-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation