The effects of silicon on nutrient levels and yields of tomatoes under saline stress in artificial medium culture

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of silicon on the stem + leaf dry weight, fruit yield, quality and nutrient levels of tomatoes, cultured under saline stress on an artificial medium. Silicon doses (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 mM) were combined in nutrient solution with 0, 44.4 and 70.4 mM NaCl in a factorial experiment with three replications. All silicon concentrations without NaCl increased stem + leaf dry weight and 1.0 mM Si increased fruit yield. Silicon increased fruit yield at 44.4 mM NaCl and steam + leaf dry weight at high NaCl concentrations. NaCl significantly increased the level of soluble solids in fruit and decreased the pH of fruit juice. Silicon significantly increased the pH of the tomato juice and decreased the number of fruits at high concentrations of NaCl. The effects of NaCl, Si and their interaction on nutrient contents and Si levels in leaves were statistically significant at different concentrations.

KEYWORDS:

• fruit yield quality
• NaCl stress
• nutrition
• silicon
• soilless culture
• tomato

Acknowledgements

The corresponding author, G. A., thanks colleagues for their support and help through the period of this research, and the authors thank Gregory T. Sullivan of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia for editing the English in an earlier version of this manuscript.