KEY BENEFITS
• Increases leaf chlorophyll content and plant metabolism
• Enhances plant anti-oxidant levels that assist with buffering against environmental stress
• Mitigates nutrient imbalances and toxicity in plants
• Reinforces canopy architecture leading to improved photosynthesis efficiencies and reduced sunburn and heat stress
• Toughens plant cell walls making it more difficult for invading pathogens to infect and reduces the palatability of the plant to insects.
• Thicker cell walls which reduces moisture loss and postharvest breakdown.
SARSil can also be used to reduce the scale in irrigation lines where bore water high in Iron and other dissolved salts is used.
Plants require a broad range of macro and micro nutrients for optimum growth and development. Among these macro nutrients Potassium ranks highly, however Silicon hardly ever gets a mention. Silicon is one of the most common elements on the planet so we assume plants will access it in sufficient quantities naturally without the need for supplement feeding. This might be true under normal conditions, however in high yielding plant species like rice, sugarcane, cereals, legumes, closely mown turf, vegetables, tree crops and some leafy ornamentals; Silicon is essential and may be in limiting levels under some growing conditions.
Why do plants need silicon?
Continuous cropping of high silicon demanding crops and plants grown in pots, inert growing media and hydroponics will benefit from SARSil applications. Without Silicon these plants will suffer in a similar way to any plant lacking a major or micro-nutrient but the signs are not as obvious. Reduced photosynthesis, increased wilting and sunburn, increased insect and disease attack, low Brix, enhanced postharvest breakdown are all indicators of potential Silicon deficiency.
