Effect of Amorphous Silicon Dioxide on Productivity and Quality of Tomato

Abstract

Tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetables, improving their taste and biochemical quality is possible as a result of reducing the content of nitrates and increasing the sugar content. The effect of amorphous fine silica on the productivity and quality of tomatoes was studied in vegetation experiments. Silica was introduced into a mixture of gray forest soil and washed sand in doses of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 g/vessel, which corresponded to 100, 200 and 300 kg/ha, against the background of complex mineral fertilizers. It was shown that the improvement of silicon nutrition of tomatoes significantly increased their yield by 52–70%. There was also an improvement in fruit quality as a result of a 20–40% reduction in nitrate content and an increase in sugar content by 12.9–50.9%. Statistical analysis of the obtained data revealed that the concentration of monosilicon acid in soils treated with silicon dioxide was closely positively correlated with the yield of tomatoes, as well as the sugar content in fruits and negatively correlated with the content of nitrates.