Effect of magnesium silicate in cv. ‘ICA Cerinza’ common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) under field conditions

The bean crop is very important in Colombia, being generator of income and employment; and furthermore very importance within the diet of the population due to its high protein content. Currently, the bean production is not sufficient to meet the demand in the country, because of phytosanitary problems, scarce replacement of varieties and inappropriate handling of mineral nutrition of cultivars. Nowadays, the use of products for soils rich in silicon represents an alternative for production increase, because they contribute markedly in nutritional dynamics. So, the purpose of this research was to assess the effect of magnesium silicate on the physiological behavior of ‘ICA Cerinza’ bean cultivar under agro ecological conditions in Tunja (Boyacá, Colombia). For that, a completely random design with 4 treatments each was used, corresponding to increasing doses of magnesium silicate (0, 300, 600 y 900 kg ha-1) with 4 replications. The total chlorophyll content, leaf area, leaf thickness, fresh and dry mass, yield components, silicon and phosphorus leaf content were evaluated. Statistical differences between treatments (P≤0. 05) were found in all variables tested. The application of 900 kg ha-1 of magnesium silicate showed the best results, confirming that silicon as a beneficial element that can submit a favorable response to physiological level in not bio-accumulators crops of this element. However, this response can be linked to agro ecological conditions, the type of product and also the dose used.