Start building for the spring
Discover the Benefits of combining nutrient applications with Silicon for improved plant defense in the autumn sown crops.
Haddy Harrington
Reading time: 6 minutes
Benefits of combining nutrient applications with Silicon
Improve your plant defences in autumn-sown crops. Combine nutrient applications with Silicon, which improves the plant’s morphology, aids in the plant’s natural energy systems, and produces strong cell walls that help resist pests (CSFB and aphids) and disease.
There are multiple trials available by suppliers of silicon products that suggest that treating cereals and oilseeds with silicon can help to reduce the crop’s reliance on artificial inputs. This is especially important with many farmers opting to take the £45/ha no insecticide payment and with insecticide resistance becoming an issue. Using silicon as a nutrient to improve the physical structure of the plant cells along with increased waxy & palisade layers can help to make it tougher and therefore more resistant to insects and pathogens trying to gain a foothold.
Applying silicon alongside Boron enables the plant to kick off the biochemical sequence (boron being the first in the sequence, see previous AIVA article on Boron published Mar. 2024), activating silicon and then carrying on to all other nutrients. This combination effect is the catalyst that enables calcium to start binding/tagging many of the other essential macro and micronutrients, including nitrogen, magnesium, phosphorus, carbon and potassium. This improves plant growth and health during its foundation vegetative stage.
Trials also have shown that an application of silicon can help the uptake of more essential nutrients; including iron, manganese, copper, and zinc. This makes the plant stronger and better equipped to resist climatic / abiotic and biotic stresses, which has resulted in higher yields, when applied both in autumn and at key growth stages in spring (T1 & T2). These applications help to reduce lodging, enhance drought tolerance and influence better nutrient flow, and aid in grain formation.
Maximize Early Drilling
The micronutrients that are activated by silicon are especially important following prolonged wet seasons where nutrients have been leached out of the soil profile. Especially in the autumn where cereals and oilseeds have been drilled early and been in the ground, possibly 4-5 weeks, longer than usual.
Many crops will benefit from an autumn (+spring) application of AIVA multi nutrient Pulsar – which contains vital nutrient balance of amide N, S, Mg, Mn, B, Cu, Zn. Mo, Co. to aid general plant health and the ability to photosynthesise effectively.
Heavy rain and, consequently waterlogged seedbeds, will start to show detrimental results that will affect the rooting of winter cereals.
Crops with poor rooting, following poor germination and/or establishment, will continue to suffer due to nutrient leaching in the spring. This demonstrates that although a crop might appear to be surviving, if it hasn’t got an equally strong root and shoot structure, then it will not reach its full potential. It will be more exposed to abiotic and biotic stress over the winter while its growth is slow / dormant and then again during rapid spring growth.
silicon products
Pulsar applied with Silicon will then enhance the availability of nutrients, especially Mg, Mn, Cu and Zn for chlorophyll production and enzyme activation.
There are several silicon products that have come to market in the last 5 years, some partnered with phosphite to aid uptake. AIVA supplies 2 Silicon nutrition products: Rampart (Potassium Silicate) and Soteria (Orthosilicic Acid). Both are highly available and tank mixable although Rampart requires the use of Citric Acid to facilitate tank mixing and must ALWAYS follow mixing sequence instructions. These are often partnered with Armour (Salicylic acid) to bolster plant defences against disease as a plant elicitor.
What Do you Think?
Could this approach work for you? At AIVA, we may not have all the answers, but we are good at asking the right questions. Your system is unique, and we’re here to help you find the best solutions. Reach out to one of our consultants today to discuss how our products can benefit your farm.
