Abstract:
Silicon has proven beneficial in growth, yield and disease resistance of plants. Currently, the different chemical sources; sodium silicate, potassium silicate and calcium silicate have been used to supply Si for plants. However, rice hull is one of the natural sources of Si which has not properly utilized. Thus, this research was conducted to investigate the effect of rice hull leachate as a Si source, on growth, yield and fruit parameters and also disease resistance of hydroponically grown Capsicum annum L. ‘Muria F1’. Rice hull leachate was incorporated to the plants grown in hydroponic media supplemented with two different nutrient solutions i.e Nutrient formula (NF) and Albert’s solution. Leaching studies were conducted to determine the optimum level of Si leached by rice hull, by soaking them in different time periods (days). The growth, yield and fruit quality parameters were measured and the resistance against anthracnose disease was assessed by artificial inoculation of fruits with Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and measuring the lesion area. Capsicum plants grown in rice hull leachate with either nutrient solution showed significant increase in, shoot length (>12%), number of leaves (>27%), leaf area (>42%) fruit length (>12%), fruit fresh weight (>37%) and yield (>44%) and also a significant reduction of an-thracnose disease (>43%) compared to control. The results revealed that rice hull leachate could be used as a low cost silicon source in hydroponic media to enhance performance of Capsicum ‘Muria F1’.
