Silicon nutrition of tomato and bitter gourd with special emphasis on silicon distribution in root fractions

Abstract

AbstractTwo plant species, tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) and bitter gourd (Momordica charantia), were used for in‐depth studies on the dynamics of silicon (Si) uptake and translocation to the shoots and compartmentation of Si in the roots. The experiments were conducted under controlled environmental conditions in nutrient solutions, which were partly amended with 1 mM Si in the form of silicic acid. At harvest, xylem exudates were collected, and Si concentrations and biomass of roots and shoots were determined. Mass flow of Si was calculated based on the Si concentration of the nutrient solution and transpiration determined in a parallel experiment. Plant roots were subjected to a fractionated Si analysis, allowing attributing Si to different root compartments. Silicon concentrations in the roots compared to the shoots were higher in tomato but lower in bitter gourd. A more ready translocation from the roots to the shoots in bitter gourd was in agreement with Si concentrations in the xylem exudates which were higher than in the external solution. In tomato, the xylem‐sap Si concentration was lower than in the nutrient solution. Calculated Si mass flow to the root exceeded Si uptake in tomato, which was consistent with the measured accumulation of Si in the root water‐free space (WFS). In contrast, Si concentration in the root WFS was lower than in the nutrient solution in bitter gourd, reflecting the calculated Si depletion at the root surface based on the comparison of Si mass flow and Si uptake. Within the roots, more than 80% of the total Si was located in the cell wall and less than 10% in the cytoplasmic fractions in tomato. In bitter gourd, between 60% and 70% of the total root Si was attributed to the cell‐wall fraction whereas the proportion of the cytoplasmic fraction reached more than 30%. Our results clearly confirm that tomato belongs to the Si excluders and bitter gourd to the Si‐accumulator plant species for which high Si concentrations in the cytoplasmic root fraction appear to be characteristic.