The effect of micro- and nanoparticles of silicon on growth and yield of strawberry in ‎hydroponic culture

In this research, the effect of different concentrations of micro- and nanoparticles of silicon dioxide (20, 40, 60 and 80 milligrams per liter) and two methods of foliar and root application on some growth and yield characteristics of strawberry (cv. Camarosa) were investigated. This research was carried out as a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications at Bu-Ali Sina University in Hamedan. Growth characteristics including leaf number, leaf area, petiole length and diameter, plant height, root length, fresh and dry weight of aerial parts, fresh and dry weight of root, amount of silicon in aerial parts and yield components including fresh weight of fruit, fruit volume, fruit number and yield were measured. The highest number of leaves, leaf area, plant height, root length, fresh and dry weight of canopy, fresh and dry weight of root were observed in root application of 60 mg L-1 of nano-silicon with 24.33 leaf, 210.09 cm2, 31.66 cm, 49.70 cm, 70.33 and 13.04 g, 39.22 and 4.43 g amounts, respectively, which showed significant differences with control treatment. Among all treatments, the highest yield (233.23 g fruit per plant) was observed in root application treatment of 60 mg L-1 nano-silicon, which was significantly different with all the treatments of foliar application of micro-silicon and control (no application of silicon).