Accumulation of silicon and arrangement and shapes of silica bodies in corn leaves.

Different plant species have different levels and locations of silicon accumulation in their tissues, and may or may not have silica bodies. Grasses usually accumulate these bodies, which may have different shapes depending on the genotype. Besides, this element can be beneficial to crops. The present study aimed to examine the forms and locations of silicon accumulation, as well as silicon content, in flag leaves of corn (Zea mays L.). This was a field experiment with two cultivars of corn: Coodetec 384 and Pioneer BG7065H. Four months after sowing, the flag leaves of the corn cultivars were obtained for determination of the silicon content of leaf tissue with the use of plasma atomic emission spectrometry, as well as examination of the different forms and locations of silicon accumulation using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The two cultivars were found to accumulate foliar silicon, primarily at the base of the trichomes and on the venation. Also, silica bodies in the shape of four-leaf clovers and dumbbells were detected, and the cultivar Coodetec 384 showed a silicon content in leaf tissue 26% higher than that of Pioneer BG7065H.

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