Optimizing silicon fertilization for improved growth and yield in Boro rice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26832/24566632.2025.100307Keywords:
Phenology, Rice productivity, SiO2, Yield componentsAbstract
In the present era, sustaining rice productivity is increasingly challenged by various biotic and abiotic stresses, nutrient imbalances, and climate variability, prompting interest in beneficial elements like silicon (Si) for enhancing plant resilience and improving yield. To evaluate the impact of silicon on Boro rice (cv. Binadhan-25), a field experiment was conducted during the 2024 Boro season at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University,
Mymensingh. The study comprised eleven treatments where recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) were applied combining with 0 to 200 kg SiO2 ha-1 in 20 kg increments. This research was arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Results revealed that the application of 40 kg SiO2 ha-1 alongside RDF significantly improved plant height, effective tillers hill-1 and grain yield outperforming all other treatments. Grain yield increased by about 25.7% with the application of 40 kg SiO2 ha-1 compared to no silicon application to the soil. These findings emphasize the beneficial role of moderate silicon supplementation in enhancing growth and yield of Boro rice and suggest 40 kg SiO2 ha-1 as the optimum dose for productivity enhancement. Future research should explore the long-term effects of silicon on soil health and crop sustainability across different rice varieties and agro-ecological zones, considering the limitation that this study focused on a single variety under one growing season.
Downloads
References
Ahammed, G. J., & Yang, Y. (2021). Mechanisms of silicon-induced fungal disease resistance in plants. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 165, 200–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2021.05.031
Ahmad, A., Tahir, M., Ullah, E., Naeem, M., Ayub, M., & Talha, M. (2012). Effect of Silicon and Boron Foliar Application on Yield and Quality of Rice. Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences, 10(2), 161–165.
Ahmad, W., Bibi, N., Sanwal, M., Ahmed, R., Jamil, M., Kalsoom, R., Arif, M., & Fahad, S. (2024). Cereal Crops in the Era of Climate Change: An Overview, In S. Fahad, S. Saud, T. Nawaz, L. Gu, M. Ahmad, & R. Zhou (Eds.), Environment, Climate, Plant and Vegetation Growth (pp. 609–630). Springer Nature, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69417-2_21
Ahsan, M., Valipour, M., Nawaz, F., Raheel, M., Abbas, H. T., Sajid, M., Manan, A., Kanwal, S., Mahmoud, E. A., Casini, R., Elansary, H. O., Radicetti, E., & Zulfiqar, H. (2023). Evaluation of Silicon Supplementation for Drought Stress under Water-Deficit Conditions: An Application of Sustainable Agriculture. Agronomy, 13(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020599
Akter, M., Paul, N. C., Sarkar, S. K., Mahapatra, C. K., Sarkar, Md. A. R., & Paul, S. K. (2022). Growth analysis of short duration transplanted Aus rice (cv. Parija) under three agronomic practices. Archives of Agriculture and Environmental Science, 7(1), 51–60. https://doi.org/10.26832/24566632.2022.070108
Ali, M. A., & Singh, B. (2025). Silicon: A crucial element for enhancing plant resilience in challenging environments. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 48(3), 486–521. https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2024.2406479
BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics). (2023). The Yearbook of Agricultural Statistics of Bangladesh. Statistics Division, Ministry of Planning, Government of People's Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka. pp. 02-40.
Biswas, J. C., Mamiruzzaman, M., Haque, M. M., Hossain, M. B., Naher, U. A., Akhtar, Sh., Rahman, M. M., Akhter, S., Ahmed, F., & Biswas, J. K. (2022). Greenhouse gas emissions from paddy fields in Bangladesh compared to top twenty rice producing countries and emission reduction strategies. Paddy and Water Environment, 20(3), 381–393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-022-00899-2
Das, D., Ullah, H., Tisarum, R., Cha-um, S., & Datta, A. (2023). Morpho-physiological Responses of Tropical Rice to Potassium and Silicon Fertilization Under Water-Deficit Stress. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 23(1), 220–237. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-021-00712-9
Dong, L., Yang, T., Ma, L., Li, R., Feng, Y., & Li, Y. (2024). Silicon Fertilizer Addition Can Improve Rice Yield and Lodging Traits under Reduced Nitrogen and Increased Density Conditions. Agronomy, 14(3), 464. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14030464
Emam, M. M., Khattab, H. E., Helal, N. M., & Deraz, A. E. (2014). Effect of selenium and silicon on yield quality of rice plant grown under drought stress. Australian Journal of Crop Science, 8(4), 596–605. https://doi.org/10.3316/informit.292342502675765
Farooq, M. A., and Dietz, K. J. (2015). Silicon as Versatile Player in Plant and Human Biology: Overlooked and Poorly Understood. Frontiers in Plant Science, 6, 994. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2015.00994
Gomez, K. A. and Gomez, A. A. (1984). Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research. 2nd Ed., John Wiley and Sons. New York. pp. 97-111.
Hasan, M. R., Deb, B. R., Mallick, A., Roy A., Sarkar, M. A. R., & Paul, S. K. (2025). Integrated nutrient management influences the morpho-physiology and yield of aromatic fine rice under subtropical conditions. Egyptian Journal of Agronomy, 47(4), 781-790. https://dx.doi.org/10.21608/agro.2025.359840.1627
Islam, Md. S., Rashid, Md. H., Kabiraj, Md. S., Sarker, U. K., Sarkar, S. K., Uddin, F. M. J., & Paul, S. K. (2024). Foliar supplementation of phosphorus and zinc enhanced the yield of Boro rice. Journal of Aridland Agriculture, 10, 74–81. https://doi.org/10.25081/jaa.2024.v10.8799
Jan, R., Aga, F. A., Bahar, F., Singh, T., & Lone, R. (2018). Effect of nitrogen and silicon on growth and yield attributes of transplanted rice (Oryza sativa L.) under Kashmir conditions. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 7(1), 328–332.
Jinger, D., Dhar, S., Dass, A., Sharma, V. K., Paramesh, V., Parihar, M., Joshi, E., Singhal, V., Gupta, G., Prasad, D., & Vijayakumar, S. (2022). Co-fertilization of silicon and phosphorus influenced influences the dry matter accumulation, grain yield, nutrient uptake, and nutrient-use efficiencies of aerobic rice. Silicon, 14(9), 4683-4697. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-021-01239-5
Khanam, S., Islam, M. S., Haque, M. S., Sarmin, T., Ali, M. I., & Topu, M. A. (2020). Improving yield of salt tolerant rice varieties through silicon application. Bangladesh Journal of Nuclear Agriculture. 34, 1–6.
Kheyri, N., Norouzi, H. A., Mobasser, H. R., & Torabi, B. (2019). Effects of Silicon and Zinc Nanoparticles on Growth, Yield, and Biochemical Characteristics of Rice. Agronomy Journal, 111(6), 3084–3090. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2019.04.0304
Manimaran, G., Duraisamy, S., Subramanium, T., Rangasamy, A., Alagarsamy, S., James, P., Selvamani, S., Perumal, D., Veerappan, M., Arunan, Y. E., & Periakaruppan, J. (2025). Silicon-driven approaches to salinity stress tolerance: Mechanisms, uptake dynamics, and microbial transformations. Plant Stress, 16, 100825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stress.2025.100825
Pati, S., Pal, B., Badole, S., Hazra, G. C., & Mandal, B. (2016). Effect of Silicon Fertilization on Growth, Yield, and Nutrient Uptake of Rice. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 47(3), 284–290. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2015.1122797
Paul, S. K., Nila, N. Y., & Sarkar, M. A. R. (2020). Grain yield and quality of aromatic Boro rice (cv. BRRI dhan50) subject to date of transplanting and nutrient management. Thai Journal of Agricultural Science, 53(2), 85–96.
Paul, S. K., Ghosh, S. R., Sarkar, S. K., Sarkar, M. A. R., Moni, M. E. H., Uddin, F. M. J., & Rashid, M. H. (2025). Influence of weeding regime and integrated fertilizer management on the weed characteristics, crop growth and yield of aromatic fine rice (cv. Binadhan-13). Agricultural Research Journal, 62(1), 16-27. https://dx.doi.org/10.5958/2395-146X.2025.00002.4
R Core Team. (2024). R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing (version 4.2.2). Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.
Roy, T. R., Sarkar, M. A. R., Kabiraj, M. S., Sarker, U. K., Rashid, M. H., Hashem, A., Avila-Quezada, G. D., Abd_Allah, E. F., & Paul, S. K. (2024). Productivity and grain protein status of transplanted aman rice as influenced by three major agronomic practices under subtropical conditions. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 22(2), 1013–1028. https://doi.org/10.15666/aeer/2202_10131028
Salam, M. A., Ferdus, J., Sultana, A., & Salek, A. (2020). Effect of rice residue on weed suppression and yield performance of boro rice. Archives of Agriculture and Environmental Science, 5(3), 320–327. https://doi.org/10.26832/24566632.2020.0503013
Singh, K., Singh, R., Singh, J., Singh, Y., & Singh, K. (2006). Effect of level and time of silicon application on growth, yield and its uptake by rice (Oryza sativa). Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 76(7), 410–413. https://epubs.icar.org.in/index.php/IJAgS/article/view/2987
Sultana, N., Haque, M., Hoque, M., Hossain, M., Satter, M., & Jahiruddin, M. (2021). Effect of Silicon Application on Growth and Biomass Yield of Rice Under Salinity Stress. Journal of Bangladesh Agricultural University, 19(4), 429-436. https://doi.org/10.5455/jbau.117294
UNDP and FAO (1988). Land Resources Appraisal of Bangladesh for Agricultural Development. Report 2. Agro-Ecological Region of Bangladesh, United Nations Development Programe and Food and Agricultural Organization. pp. 212-221.
Veer, S., Virendra, S., Satybhan, S., & Richa, K. (2020). Effect of Zinc and Silicon on Growth and Yield of Aromatic Rice (Oryza Sativa) in North-Western Plains of India. Journal of Rice Research and Developments, 3(1), 82-86. https://doi.org/10.36959/973/424
Wang, M., Wang, R., Mur, L. A. J., Ruan, J., Shen, Q., & Guo, S. (2021). Functions of silicon in plant drought stress responses. Horticulture Research, 8, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41438-021-00681-1
Zhao, M., Lin, Y., & Chen, H. (2020). Improving nutritional quality of rice for human health. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 133(5), 1397–1413. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-019-03530-x
Zohora, F., Paul, S. K., Rahman, A., Paul, N. C., Rahman, Md. M., Javed, T., Barutçular, C., Çiğ, F., Soysal, S., & El Sabagh, A. (2023). Effect of planting and nutrient management on the growth, yield and protein content of aromatic fine rice. Journal of Aridland Agriculture, 9, 22–30. https://doi.org/10.25081/jaa.2023.v9.7209
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Agriculture and Environmental Science Academy
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
