Plants accumulate silicon.

They contain 10-15% silicon by dry weight and include weeds growing in moist soil such as rice and sedge weeds.

Plants with a medium content of silicon:

They contain 1–3% silicon by dry weight and include dry land weeds such as wheat.

plant that is not accumulating silicon:

fruit trees and leguminous crops.

How do the plants absorb silicon?

The silicon element is absorbed in the form of salicylic acid or silicate ions into the interior of the root cells and transported through the cytoplasmic filaments to the xylem, where it is transferred to the vegetative system. 

They are involved in the composition of the cell wall. These silicone polymers' types and molecular sizes differ from one plant to another. It has also been found that they are associated with many other biological compounds such as lignin, pectin, cellulose, and others. 

The role of silicon in plant life

The silicon element plays a major role in increasing the production of many plants, as it works to increase the amount of the crop, improve the soil's physical properties in the area of root spread, and improve root and vegetative growth.

Plants are more resistant to dormancy as a result of silicon fertilization processes, and the silicon element works to reduce transpiration rates and increase plant resistance to drought and soil salinity.

The success of agricultural pest control operations does not mean that the plant is free of farm pests only but also that it is free from pesticide residues and toxic chemicals that are used irrationally to eliminate agricultural pests, which leads to a decrease in the quality of the crop due to the presence of pesticide residues. 

Excessive use increases pest resistance to these pesticides, thus increasing the virulence of the pest.

Therefore, it is necessary to search for effective alternatives to resisting agricultural pests so that they do not have residual toxic effects on the agricultural product. In this article, I will try to shed light on silica as one of the most famous materials that can be used.

The presence of the element silicon:

The silicon element represents about 27.2% of the elements on the face of the globe, after the oxygen element, which represents 45.5% of the elements.

 On earth, silica SiO2 is the andric of orthosilicic acid H4SiO4, which is the soluble form of silica, and it can be neutralized with alkalis such as potassium hydroxide, so it turns into potassium silicate. Scientist Juluis Sachs studied whether silicic acid has a role in plant nutrition and composition, and what is the relationship between what plants eat from silicic acid and their performance and physiological functions?

It is surprising that this question is still raised so far, as many scientific research centers interested in agricultural production, plant physiology, and agricultural pest resistance are interested in this topic and dedicate much of their research to it. Silica as an alternative to pesticides in resistance processes and how it plays a major role in producing a large crop free of fungal, insect, and acaricide pests and free of pesticides.

The results of using silicon on plants

It was found that treating the plant with silica compounds leads to the entry of silica into the composition of the cell walls and the formation of polymers (large molecules) containing silicon that make the cell walls more solid and thus resistant to the penetration of fungi, and the plant becomes more resistant to fungal diseases.

A further finding was that treating plants with silica compounds or orthosilicic acid leads to morphological changes that increase the thickness of the leaves, increase the density of hairs on the leaves, and increase their hardness and length, making them more water-retaining and tolerant to environmental stress factors, especially high heat and frost, as well as preventing the fall of eggs of insects, mites, and fungal spores on the plants. Plant leaf tissue thus prevents insect, mite, and fungal infections. 

These effects are considered one of the most important effects resulting from treatment with silicon and are known as "Si-induced resistance."

Moreover, it was discovered that treatment with silica works to increase the thickness of the plant stem and a large root and vegetative group by increasing the size and hardness of the vascular bundles that make up wood and bark, which leads to an increase in the rates of transfer of nutrients from the root system to the rest of the plant parts, as well as the products of biological processes such as sugars and acids. Amino acids and plant hormones from the leaves to the root system.

Also, it was found that treatment with silica compounds or orthosilicic acid leads to an increase in plant resistance to water stress by reducing water loss through transpiration and evaporation processes.