Silicic Acid Agro Technology (SAAT) Research

SAAT is the application of plant available Silicic acid.

Silicic acid (SA) is the only plant available Silicon compound and Silicon is of great importance to all living organisms, including plants.

Unfortunately the concentration of Silicic Acid in the soil is very low resulting in a silicic acid deficiency. And the result is an suboptimal growth of the crop.

To overcome this SA deficiency stabilized silicic acid can be applied as foliar spray or as a soil amendment to the plant.

Foliar applied SA induces an increase in plant growth starting with an enhanced root growth resulting in a higher uptake of nutrients resulting in an enhanced growth of the plant with more tillers and larger leaf area with higher chlorophyll content. The outcome is a healthier plant with more yield and higher quality.

To understand the mechanisms of action of the application of foliar silicic acid a research project is started on the molecular analysis of the effects of foliar applied bioavailable Silicic Acid on Rice in Acidic and Salty soils.

The greenhouse and pot experiments for this research will be done by the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore India, while the molecular analysis is done by NSure, Wageningen.

This project is made possible through a contribution from the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union.