Beneficial effects of silicon fertilizers on indicators of seed germination, grain yield of barley and soybean and silage corn biomass

The aim of the study was to determine the optimal doses and methods of the application of silicon fertilizer in barley, silage corn, and soybean under the climatic conditions of Ukraine. A series of laboratory and field experiments were carried out, as along with statistical and analytic data processing. The small-plot field experiment was conducted on chernozem podzolic soil at the NSC ?Institute for Soil Science and Agrochemistry Research named after O.N. Sokolovsky? (Kharkiv region, Forest-Steppe of Ukraine). The laboratory experiments were set up in Petri dishes using a preparative form of different concentrations (0%, 0.5%, 0.75% and 1.0%) of potassium silicate for their assessment of the germination indicators of barley and corn seeds. The significant stimulating effect of potassium silicate on the germination capacity and germination energy of barley and corn seeds was shown, and the optimal concentration of the solution for pre-sowing seed treatment was established. A high positive correlation was determined between the amount of SiO2 application and the yield of the studied crops (P < 0.01; R = 0,7479-0,8682). The optimal levels of the pre-sowing application of SiO2 into the soil were established to obtain maximum crop yields on chernozem podzolic soil (105 kg SiO2 ha-1 for barley, 92 kg SiO2ha-1 for silage corn, and 76 kg SiO2ha-1 for soybean). Also, for each of the studied crops, the most optimal methods of the application of silicon fertilizers were determined, which will improve their productivity on chernozem soils.