Optimum dosage of rice husk-based silicon foliar spray to improve yield of soybean grown on irrigated lowland

Abstract

Silicon (Si) is highly abundant in soil and plays important role in growth and development of plant. However, number of available Si is limited depend on soil type and condition, thus supplementary Si from fertilizer is needed. Rice husk is one of potential source of Si fertilizer. This study aimed to determine the optimum dosage of rice husk-based bio-silicon foliar spray (SiF) improve yield of soybean. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design at Narmada Research Station of AIAT (Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology) of West Nusa Tengara Province from May to June 2018. There were four treatments of SiF concentration with four replications viz. SiF1 = 3 ml/lt, SiF2 = 6 ml/lt, SiF3 = 9 ml/lt, and SiF0 = 0 ml/lt (control). The results showed that plant growth and yield attribute i.e., weight of biomass, number of pods, fresh pod weight, yield were improved on all SiF treatments when compared to the control. Total ground above biomas m−2 was also significantly improved, while the highest yield produced at SiF3. Current study suggests that optimum dosage of rice husk-based bio-silica foliar spray for lowland irrigated soybean was 6 ml/lt, and further on-farm experiment is needed to test the dosage at wider scale.