Effects of vermicompost on available silicon content, silicon uptake and biomass production of Bird's eye chili

Abstract

Soil amendment by vermicompost may modify soil physicochemical properties leading to enhancing available form of beneficial element, such as silicon (Si). To prove that, Bird's eye chili plants were grown under 4 conditions: soils without amendment (control), with vermicompost (300 gram/kilogram), with chemical fertilizer (15-15-15, 5 gram/kilogram) and with sodium trisilicate fertilizer (1 mM SiO₂) for 49 days. The results showed that vermicompost significantly increased height, leaf number and dry mass of shoots and roots, when compared to control. For Si uptake, the chili plants grown under the control condition accumulated Si approximately 672 ppm in shoots and 1,613 ppm in roots. Nonetheless, vermicompost did not affect soil available Si but significantly increased total Si contents per plant. Moreover, soil property analysis showed that vermicompost increased electrical conductivity (EC) and pH of soils and seemed to decrease soil compaction. Thus, it may be that vermicompost improved physicochemical properties of soils leading to increased biomass production of Bird's eye chili.