Effects of nano and ionized silicon on physiological and biochemical characteristics of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Abstract The role of protecting and structure stabilizing effects of silicon (Si) has been demonstrated on different plant species. Still it has not been used in potato seed production under a soilless culture system. Furthermore, particle size is very important in particle adhesion and interactions with biological reactions. Therefore, the use of nano-Si particles may be more efficient than ionized -Si. For this purpose, a greenhouse experiment under a soilless culture system was performed as a randomized complete block design (RCBD) arranged in a factorial with three replications. In this study, Si concentration (distilled water (Control), 0.8, 1.6, 2.4, and 3.2 mmol Si L− 1) and Si type at two levels (nano and ionized Si-based in sodium silicate) were tested. The results revealed that foliar application of Si significantly improved the net photosynthesis rate, water use efficiency, mesophyll conductance, Chl a, Chl b, carotenoids, Chl a/b ratio, DPPH radical scavenging, total phenol, mean weight mini-tuber, and yield, whereas transpiration rate in Si-treated plants decreased. Moreover, the greatest positive influence of Si was observed at 3.2 mmol L− 1. The effect of Nano-Si was greater than ionized-Si at all Si concentrations. The results revealed that improved biochemical and photosynthetic characteristics of potato plantlet under Nano-Si treatments compared to ionized-Si treatments. However, these relations were not significant under ionized treatment. This study indicated that the application of Si (nano and ionized) for potato growing and mini-tuber production has positive effects. Generally, under soilless culture system, Nano-Si have higher efficiency than ionized-Si in mini-tuber production.