EFFECTS OF SILICON ON THE QUALITY AND YIELDS OF COFFEE CROPS

Abstract

The first signs of the use of silicon in plant nutrition date back to the eighteenth century, when it was discovered that it constitutes between 0.1% and 10% of the elemental composition of plants, and its effects began to be discovered both in the health of crops, as in the quantity and quality of the harvests. To verify these hypotheses, in collaboration with SENNOVA, at the Center for Renewable Natural Resources La salada, SENA Regional-Antioquia, a randomized block trial was proposed, with four varieties and three replicates, to evaluate the impact of the application of silicon on growth, development, health, productivity and quality of the coffee crop. As a result, an increase in exchangeable bases in the soil was obtained, in response to the application of the product, accompanied by a slight increase in pH. The absorption and foliar accumulation of nutrients was affected by high rainfall conditions, with differences between the varieties evaluated. The incidence of “iron spot” was also reduced by more than 50%, especially in the Colombia and Typica varieties; all varieties showed greater vigor and productivity in response to the application of silicon, highlighting a significant increase of 49.8% in the Typica variety. The rating for cup quality was evaluated on four key aspects: Acidity, aroma, balance and body of the drink, achieving significant improvements in all varieties, with a difference in overall impression rating or score greater than 5 points