EFFECT OF METHOD OF SILICON FERTILIZATION ON MAIZE NUTRITION, YIELD AND SILICON USE EFFICIENCY GROWN

High pH soil, also known as alkaline soil, inhibits plant growth by limiting water availability, preventing plants from extracting necessary nutrients from the soil, and causing the formation of nutrient deficiencies such as phosphorus, zinc, and iron. In this context, a pot experiment was started in the glass house of Annamalai University's Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry to see how different techniques of silicon fertilisation affect mineral nutrition, yield, and silicon use efficiency in maize grown in high pH soil. T1) Fertilizer dose recommendation T2) Fertilizer dose recommendation T3) Fertilizer dose recommendation T4) Fertilizer dose (RDF) T3) RDF + soil application @ 100 kg/ha, T4) RDF + soil application @ 150 kg/ha, T5) RDF + soil application @ 200 kg/ha T6) RDF + soil application @ 100 kg/ha + silicon @2 mM seed priming, T7) RDF + soil application @ 150 kg/ha + silicon @2 mM seed priming, and T8) RDF + soil application @ 200 kg/ha + silicon @2 mM seed priming The experiment was carried out in CRD with three replications using maize var. Co8 as the test crop. The experiment found that feeding maize crops with silicon through seed and soil together with RDF had a favourable impact on nutrient (N, P.K., and Si) concentrations and uptake in grain and stover. The percentage increase in nutrient uptake owing to silicon treatments varied from 62.6 to 104.8 percent for N, 89.2 to 178.4 percent for P, 72.4 to 117.3 percent for K, and 107.9 to 185.2 percent for Si. The maize crop treated with silicon as a seed primer or directly applied to the soil yielded significantly more grain (27.8 to 30.3 g/plant) and stover (33.4 to 38.7 g/plant) than the control (no silicon) (no silicon). When maize crops received silicon through seed and soil rather than individual application, agronomic efficiency, apparent Si recovery declined with silicon levels, and values were greater. Under alkaline stress, it has been determined that applying silicon to the soil (200 kg/ha) and seed priming (2 mM) is the most cost-effective method of increasing maize production and mineral nutrition.

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