Mobility of silicon, fertility of sod-podzolic soil, bioaccumulation of silicon and yields of agricultural crops under the influence of zeolite

In modern arable farming, beneficial properties of silicon-containing natural materials are of interest, including zeolites which have a structuring and moisture-retaining effect on soil, can optimize conditions for development of agronomically valuable microorganisms, replenish soil solution with available forms of potassium, phosphorus and trace elements, and show activity towards excessive acidity of soils. The provision of silicon makes it possible to increase adaptation of crops to stresses caused by agroecotope factors, leading to an increase in productivity and yield quality characteristics. For the first time, in the conditions of sod-podzolic soils of the Nizhny Novgorod region, we established the beneficial influence of various doses of zeolite rock of the Khotynets deposit on the main properties of effective fertility of sod-podzolic light loamy soil and content of biologically active silicon in it. The impact of the rock on accumulation of various silicon compounds in above-ground biomass of crops is evaluated. Increase of their yield due to zeolite action was revealed and optimization of quality indices of the main part of the crop was established. The purpose of the work was to determine mobility of silicon in sod-podzolic light loamy soil, to evaluate its physicochemical and agrochemical properties, and to identify patterns of bioaccumulation of various silicon compounds by above-ground parts of plants depending on the dose of zeolite rock as a high-silicon reclamation material. Studies carried out in 2015-2017 involved crop varieties zoned in the Volga-Vyatka region, the winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) cv. Moscovskaya 39 and spring wheat cv. Kurskaya 2038, winter rye ( Secale cereale L.) cv. Valdai, barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) cv. Veles, peas sown ( Pisum sativum L.) cv. Chishminsky 95 and potato ( Solarium tuberosum L.) cv. Red Scarlet. The design of the experiment included control (no treatment) and incorporation of 3, 6, and 12 t/ha zeolite of the Khotynetsky deposit (ООО Alsiko-Resurs, Russia) into the soil. The rock was introduced into soil once, manually, in the summer period of 2014. The soil of the field is a sod-podzolic medium-sod shallow-depressed ungelled light-ugly, formed on a cover loam. Plants were harvested upon complete ripeness (grain crops), the beginning (peas) and the end (potatoes) of drying of the tops. In above-ground plant biomass of all crops, the contents of organic, soluble mineral, insoluble polymer and general silicon compounds were determined. Soil was samples on harvest day from five points of each plot by envelope method and the content of mobile silicon compounds was evaluated. Also, in soil samples, the actual, exchange acidity, hydrolytic acidity, the content of exchange compounds of calcium and magnesium, the amount of exchange forms of potassium, the content of mobile phosphorus compounds according to Kirsanov and humus according to Tyurin were measures. It was shown that the use of 12 t/ha zeolite rock contributes to an increase in the content of water-soluble forms of silicon in the soil by 143 % (p function show_eabstract() { $('#eabstract1').hide(); $('#eabstract2').show(); $('#eabstract_expand').hide(); }