Effect of foliar application of potassium silicate on growth, yield and quality of banana

Introduction

Banana (Musa paradisiaca L.) is globally celebrated as one of the most vital fruit crops and food security staples, widely recognized as 'Kalpataru' in the Indian subcontinent due to its perennial bearing habit and multifaceted economic utility. Commercial cultivation across India, especially in the high-production tracts of Maharashtra, is overwhelmingly anchored on cultivar Grand Naine owing to its high yield potential, compact stature, uniform finger conformation and supreme consumer preference (Robinson and Galan Sauco, 2010) [22] . However, the crop is exceptionally fast-growing and nutrient-exhaustive, consuming massive quantities of primary macronutrients especially potassium to sustain rapid phyllochron emergence, pseudostem expansion, floral initiation and subsequent bunch filling (Thangaselvabai et al., 2009; ICAR-NRCB, 2021) [9,25] . Suboptimal nutrient transport, physiological stresses and pseudostem structural instability often impede orchards from realizing their genetic yield potential. In modern horticultural nutrition, silicon (Si) has emerged as an indispensable quasi-essential biostimulant that fortifies plant mechanical tissues and mitigates diverse biotic and abiotic stresses (Epstein, 1999; Ma and Yamaji, 2006) [7,11] . Foliar application of potassium silicate (K 2 SiO 3 ) provides a strategic dual nutritional advantage by concurrently supplying bioavailable silicon (SiO 2 ) and ionic potassium (K + ). Soluble silicon deposits into leaf epidermal and cuticular matrices as amorphous silica (phytoliths), promoting an erect leaf architecture, improving solar radiation capture, reducing cuticular transpiration and stabilizing cellular membranes (Asmar et al., 2013) [5] . Simultaneously, potassium serves as a master enzyme activator in carbon assimilation, sucrose phloem loading and osmotic turgor maintenance (Vijayan et al., 2021) [27] . Although the individual roles of potassium and silicon have been observed across various horticultural crops (Shehata et al., 2018; Abidi et al., 2023) [2,24] , empirical field investigations detailing the optimal concentration and stagespecific application timing of K 2 SiO 3 in commercial banana production remain limited. Specifically, distinguishing between vegetative growth responses during peak canopy formation versus sink-filling responses following denavelling (terminal male bud excision) warrants in-depth elucidation. Accordingly, the present study was conducted to evaluate the influence of foliar application of potassium silicate concentrations and application timings on vegetative growth parameters, yield attributes, bunch and finger metrics, foliar NPK accumulation, biochemical fruit quality and enterprise economics in banana cv. Grand Naine.

Materials and Methods

The field investigation was conducted during the 2025 Observations were taken strictly on selected research parameters: (A) Growth parameters: functional leaves per plant (counted at shooting), leaf area (dm 2 , estimated on the 3rd fully expanded leaf using Murry's formula: Length × Width × 0.8) and total leaf chlorophyll content (mg g⁻¹ fresh weight, extracted in DMSO and measured spectrophotometrically at 645 nm and 663 nm; Sadasivam and Manickam, 1992) [23] ; (B) Yield parameters: fruit yield per plant (kg plant⁻¹) and total fruit yield (t ha⁻¹); (C) Bunch and finger parameters: bunch weight (kg), hands per bunch, fingers per hand and single finger weight (g); (D) Leaf nutrient status: total leaf N (%), P (%), and K (%) determined on the 3rd fully expanded leaf at shooting, digested in di-acid (HNO 3 :HClO 4 , 9:4 v/v) and estimated by micro-Kjeldahl distillation, vanadomolybdate yellow spectrophotometry (420 nm), and flame photometry, respectively (Jackson, 1973; Piper, 1966) [8,17] ; (E) Pulp chemical observations: Total Soluble Solids (°Brix, digital refractometer), titratable acidity (%, titrated against 0.1 N NaOH; Ranganna, 1991) [20] , and ascorbic acid (mg 100g⁻¹ pulp, 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol titration; Ranganna, 1977) [19] and (F) Benefit: Cost (B:C) ratio: computed by dividing gross returns by total production cost per hectare. Data were statistically processed via ANOVA for Factorial RBD, with statistical significance determined by the F-test, and critical differences (CD) were calculated at p = 0.05 (Panse and Sukhatme, 1976) [14] .

Results and Discussion

Growth Parameters and Total Leaf Chlorophyll

The experimental results revealed that foliar application of potassium silicate exerted a highly significant influence on functional leaf production, expanded leaf surface area and total leaf chlorophyll accumulation (Table 1). Foliar feeding with 0.4% K 2 SiO 3 (A 3 ) recorded the maximum functional leaf count (23.07 plant⁻¹), largest leaf area (0.76 dm 2 ) and highest chlorophyll content (2.52 mg g⁻¹), significantly outperforming the untreated control (21.54 leaves, 0.44 dm 2 , and 1.92 mg g⁻¹ chlorophyll, respectively). With respect to spraying stages, foliar application at 7 MAP (B 3 ) generated peak leaf area (0.71 dm 2 ) and chlorophyll concentration (2.44 mg g⁻¹), while sprays one month after denavelling preserved the highest leaf retention (22.45 leaves plant⁻¹). The interaction between concentration and timing was statistically significant for leaf area and leaf count. Plants treated with 0.4% K 2 SiO 3 at 7 MAP (A 3 B 3 ) registered the highest individual leaf area (0.98 dm 2 ), leaf production (25.67 leaves plant⁻¹) and peak total chlorophyll (2.77 mg g⁻¹). This vegetative superiority is linked to the mechanical and biochemical benefits of silicon and potassium. Deposited silicon reinforces cell walls and leaf petioles, maintaining upright leaf orientation and improving canopy light interception while preventing chlorophyll degradation (Asmar et al., 2013) [5] . Potassium activates nitrate reductase and Rubisco, promoting tetrapyrrole ring synthesis and cellular turgidity (Vijayan et al., 2021) [27] . These findings corroborate the results of Panchal et al., (2020) [13] and Aiman Takrim et al., (2021) [3] in banana. [16,26] .

Leaf Nutrient Dynamics (Total N, P and K Content)

Total leaf nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contents at shooting were significantly enhanced by potassium silicate treatments (Table 2). Foliar feeding with 0.4% K 2 SiO 3 (A 3 ) established the highest foliar concentrations of N (2.18%), P (0.29%) and K (2.79%) relative to 1.35% N, 0.21% P and 2.55% K in the control (A 1 ). Spraying at 7 MAP (B 3 ) produced peak leaf nutrient accumulation across all timings (2.13% N, 0.29% P and 2.90% K). The interaction of 0.4% K 2 SiO 3 applied at 7 MAP (A 3 B 3 ) yielded the maximum leaf nutrient status: 2.59% N, 0.38% P and 3.30% K, reflecting an improvement of 1.14% N, 0.17% P and 0.88% K over the untreated control. The substantial enhancement of foliar N, P and K status under K 2 SiO 3 sprays during rapid vegetative development (7 MAP) illustrates Si-mediated physiological upregulation. Exogenous silicon stimulates root physiological activity, increases nitrate reductase enzyme activity and regulates plasma membrane H⁺-ATPase pumps, thereby accelerating active nutrient acquisition and transpiration flow (Patil et al., 2017; Panchal et al., 2020) [13,15] . Simultaneously, direct foliar absorption of potassium improves leaf sap ionic concentrations and facilitates phosphate anion translocation.

As plants transition to reproductive heading, these foliar reserves are remobilized to sustain developing bunches, confirming the importance of building reserves at 7 MAP (Vijayan et al., 2021) [27] . [18] . Concurrently, silicon protects ascorbic acid from enzymatic oxidation by inhibiting ascorbic acid oxidase and reinforcing cellular membrane integrity (Al-Muhe and Abdul-Wahid, 2023) [4] . In economic terms, treatment A 3 B 4 recorded the highest Benefit: Cost (B:C) ratio of 2.25 compared to 1.89 in the control (A 1 B 4 ), demonstrating that substantial yield gains (85.17 t ha⁻¹) and improved fruit quality significantly exceed the minor costs of the treatment.

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