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Silicon Induced Stress Tolerance Mechanism in Crops

Crop growth and productivity declines due to various environmental associated stress conditions such as abiotic and biotic stresses. The abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, UV radiation, high temperature, light, heat and cold stress hampers the soil and crop ecology as well as pathogens, disease-pest infestations accounts for biotic stresses for crop, thus deteriorates soil fertility. Silicon application develops the defensive mechanisms on physical, biochemical and molecular level of crop to mitigate stress conditions. Silicon deposition on cuticles of crops forms a hard and impermeable layer which resists the infestation and other invasion pathway for insect-pest which develops physical based mechanism for stress alleviation. Silicon induces the conditions to release certain defensive enzymes and antimicrobial compounds which are helpful in formation of defensive mechanism against stress conditions; also silicon helps the crop to modify crop cellular structures. On molecular level silicon application to crops to release activated genes and proteins those act as a measure against stress situation.