Assessment of nano silicon fertilizer effects on soil nutrients, enzyme activities, and microbial communities

Abstract

Silicon is widely known for its ability to improve soil texture, suppress pathogenic microbial abundance and promote plant growth. The application of nano materials in agricultural production is becoming more and more extensive. In order to study the effect of application of nano silicon fertilizer on nutrients, enzyme activities and microorganisms of soil, four treatments were set: control (CK, compound fertilizer), treatment 1 (T1, compound fertilizer + 0.9 kg ha⁻¹ nano silicon), treatment 2 (T2, compound fertilizer + 1.8 kg ha⁻¹ nano silicon), treatment 3 (T3, compound fertilizer + 2.7 kg ha⁻¹ nano silicon). The results showed that alkali hydrolyzed nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium and available silicon in the soil treated with nano silicon fertilizer were significantly higher than that of CK. And the soil enzyme activity of the treatments with nano silicon fertilizer were significantly higher than that of CK. In addition, the application of nano silicon fertilizer also increased the richness, evenness and diversity of soil bacterial community in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) field. In the wheat harvest period, the Chao1 index, Shannon index and Pielou's evenness index were significantly higher in T2 than in CK by 23.47%, 4.91% and 3.28% 23.47%, respectively. The relative abundance of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in T2 was significantly higher than in CK, with a difference of 10.69%. In conclusion, the application of nano silicon fertilizer is important for improving soil nutrients, enhancing soil enzyme activities and improving microbial diversity.