Synergistic effects of foliar application of amino acids and silicon on the content of micro- and macroelements in phytomass of grassland

The experiment involved two foliar preparations of biostimulating properties containing silicon and amino acids. The aim of the study was to asses a synergistic effect of foliar application of amino acids and silicon on the content of micro- and macroelements in phytomass of grassland. It was conducted in the years 2017-2019, at an Experimental Station in Prusy near Kraków belonging to the Department of Agroecology and Crop Production, University of Agriculture in Kraków. The field experiment in a randomized block design was repeated four times and the area of the experimental plots was 10 m2. The plots were covered with loess-based degraded chernozem of class I in the Polish soil classification system. The experimental variants involved separate treatments with either silicon preparation at a dose of 0.8 dm3 ha-1 or amino acid preparation at a dose of 2.0 dm3 ha-1, and both preparations together at the mentioned doses. Foliar fertilization with the amino acid preparation and combined fertilization with silicon and amino acids significantly (p≤0.05) increased the content of the investigated macroelements. The difference was the greatest in the first year of the study. For potassium it reached 19.5% in the plants from the first cut treated with a combination of silicon and amino acids. The combination enhanced also the content of zinc, copper, manganese and iron. In summary, joint application of silicon and amino acids positively influenced the concentration of minerals in phytomass of grassland. In such cases fertilization is necessary to improve mineral levels in phytomass of grassland.