The effectiveness of silicon-containing preparations in potato growing

The introduction of biological agents in crop production for protection, growth regulation and increasing crop resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses is becoming increasingly common. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of siliceous humic preparations on potato yield and soil microbiological activity. The studies were conducted in the Tver region from 2020 to 2022. The experiments tested silicon (sodium silicate solution) and siliceous humic preparations developed at the All-Russian Research Institute of Reclaimed Lands (BoHum-S, nanoBoHum-S). Ultrasonic dispersion was used to obtain nanopreparations. The preparations were applied to tubers before planting (OK) at concentrations of 0.5 and 1.0 % and as a two-time foliar treatment (HO) of ‘Skarb’ potato plants during the "seedlings" and "budding" phases. The greatest increase in potato yield on average over three years relative to the control (without treatment) was noted in the variant using the nanosized silica-humic preparation nanoBoHum-S (OK, 1.0% + HO) – 1.7 t/ha, or 9.7 %. Statistically significant increases in potato yield in this variant were obtained in all years of testing. The yield increase is due to the increase in the share of the medium potato fraction due to the decrease in the small one. During the main phases of potato plant development, the number of autochthonous, ammonifying and phosphate-mobilizing microorganisms in the soil was counted using the limiting dilution method on agar nutrient media. Treatment of potato tubers with preparations contributed to the activation of the said microorganisms, their highest number was noted in the variant with the use of nanoBoHum-S (OK, 1.0% + HO). The number of the said microorganisms increased almost twofold in the germination phase, in the flowering phase the increase in ammonifying microflora was 36 %, phosphate-mobilizing – 43 %. Activation of autochthonous microorganisms affected the content of easily hydrolyzed nitrogen in the soil. When using the silicon-containing preparation nanoSi, an increase in the number of phosphate-mobilizing microorganisms and a decrease in the activity of ammonifying and autochthonous ones were noted.