A University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researcher recently highlighted a number of benefits from using silicon as a nutrient for citrus. Muhammad Shahid, assistant professor at the North Florida Research and Education Center, presented silicon research findings at the Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo in August.
According to Shahid, silicon is categorized as a plant beneficial substance by the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials and is approved for use in organic production. It can be applied to the soil via irrigation or as a foliar spray.
Shahid emphasized that the silicon used on citrus is not silicone, which is a polymer of silicon, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen with a rubber-like consistency. Silicone is commonly used in cookware, sealants, adhesives and lubricants.
The citrus benefits that Shahid discussed included:
- Silicon improves fruit weight, firmness, quality and shelf-life. The improved fruit quality attributes include Brix, sugar/acid ratio, diameter, juice percentage and total phenol and flavonoids.
- Silicon makes plants more resilient to freezing temperatures.
- Silicon reduces leafminer and Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) populations. ACP is the vector that spreads citrus greening from tree to tree.
- Silicon improves tree canopy.
- Silicon enhances stem diameter and plant height.
- Foliar application of silicon at 150 parts per million (ppm) and 200 ppm is beneficial for young and mature citrus trees.
See Shahid’s full Expo presentation, Boosting Citrus Resilience: The Power of Silicon as a Beneficial Nutrient.
A Citrus Industry Tip of the Week article earlier this year by Shahid and UF/IFAS ag/food scientist KeAndre Leaks provided much additional information about silicon for citrus production. See that article here.
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