(04/09/25) BATON ROUGE, La. — In 2021, LSU AgCenter researchers Lawrence Datnoff and Brenda Tubaña published a paper analyzing the role silicon plays in plant stress reduction and why the element is not used as a fertilizer in agricultural production. Since its publication in the Plant Disease journal, the paper has been downloaded more than 11,000 times and has been cited 45 times.

The paper, titled “Silicon’s Role in Plant Stress Reduction and Why This Element Is Not Used Routinely for Managing Plant Health,” was written with Wendy Zellner, of the University of Toledo, and Fabrício Rodrigues, of Universidade Federal de Viçosa.

Datnoff, a professor and head of the AgCenter Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, said he wanted to ensure the paper would be comprehensive about the importance of silicon in agriculture and provide the reader with a detailed overview on why silicon is not used.

Throughout his career, Datnoff has contributed to the literature on silicon in agriculture and has committed much of his career to furthering research into disease epidemiology as well as the physiological and molecular basis for disease resistance. He has published three books, including “Silicon and Plant Disease and Silicon in Agriculture,” on the importance of silicon in plant disease resistance as well as soil and plant tissue levels needed to reduce disease development.

Even with these positive outcomes, there is still a lack of interest by producers in improving silicon soil levels within a farm to enhance plant growth and development, Datnoff said. Part of this reason stems from the view that silicon, being the second most abundant element in the earth’s crust, is not unavailable to the plant. Furthermore, many plant scientists still view it as not essential for plant performance.

For Tubaña, this is the reason why the paper has gained so much recognition and popularity. The research was thorough, both about the information currently available and the shortcomings of the information.

“The article presented what really is lacking for silicon fertilization to become an agronomic and horticultural practice to manage plant health,” Tubaña said. “That’s the reason why this article became very popular — because we've been looking for a publication on comprehensive evaluation of factors why silicon fertilization like this has not taken off as practice in crop production.”

The two researchers will be speaking at the International Conference on Silicon in Agriculture in Belgrade, Serbia, this fall as they continue to support the collaboration necessary to further the role of silicon in agriculture. While there has been significant progress made in recent years, Tubaña still believes there are clear paths to learn more about the impact silicon can have in agriculture.

“One of the research areas we continue to work on is the standardization of soil and plant tissue testing. Another one would be the identification of effective silicon fertilizer sources. Also, growers ask, ‘Where do we get the materials if we figure out that we have this deficiency in the soil?’” Tubaña said. “So there’s still some of those basic things that need to be addressed when it comes to establishing a silicon fertilization program.”

Graduate students Alisson Camargo and Eve Radam conduct disease rating on wheat applied with biostimulants; some of these biostimulant products contain silicon. Photo by Marlon Vieira/LSU AgCenter

A rice plant amended with silicon showing reduced lesion size development. Photo provided by Lawrence Datnoff