Efecto de distintas fuentes de silicio foliar en la producción de banano (musa spp.) en Ecuador

Abstract

Knowledge on foliar application of silicon and its impact on banana productivity is limited. Therefore, the present research aimed to evaluate the effect of the application of different sources of foliar silicon on banana crop productivity, based on the measurement of morpho-productive variables in the specific conditions of the province of El Oro. Five variables were analyzed; bunch mass, rachis mass, second hand caliber, number of hands and bunch finger length, for which a completely randomized block design with six treatments was used: Control (T1), Si(OH)4 (Silicic acid) 250 cm3 ha-1 (T2), Si(OH)4 500 cm3 ha-1 (T3), Si(OH)4 750 cm3 ha-1 (T4), K2SiO3 (Potassium silicate) 1000 cm3 ha-1 (T5) and Ca2SiO3 (Calcium silicate) 1000 cm3 ha-1 (T6). The results showed significant differences in the variables bunch mass for the treatments Si(OH)4 at doses of 750 and 500 cm3 ha-1 with values of 22 and 21.4 kg, likewise for bunch finger length the best treatment was 500 cm3 ha-1 of Si(OH)4 with a value of 25.4 cm. On the other hand, variables such as rachis mass, second hand caliper and number of bunch hands, no statistically significant differences were observed among the different treatments. However, the doses of 750 and 500 cm3 ha-1 showed a slight increase compared to the other treatments.