LAUSR

Abstract We conducted a pot experiment to evaluate the potential for soil- and foliar-applied silicon (Si), alone and in combination, to a Cd-contaminated soil in order to evaluate the effects on such amendments on the Cd translocation from soil to wheat root, shoot and grains. Five treatments were used, T1) control with no external factor added, T2 received only Cd, while T3–T5 treatments received Cd in combination with soil, foliar and soil plus foliar applied Si. Except control (T1), soil was contaminated with Cd at 10 mg kg−1 in all the treatments and 1% solution of Si as an amendment was used for soil and/or foliar application or their combination. Overall, while Si application improved both plant growth and yield in Cd-contaminated soil. Control and combined soil- and foliar-applied Si in Cd contaminated treatments showed equally positive (2.5%) increase in plant height over Cd contaminated treatment. Grain yield was also highest in the treatment receiving Cd plus soil-applied Si (29%) followed by control (26%). It was concluded that Si can alleviate Cd toxicity in wheat irrespective of whether the Si was soil-applied or applied via a foliar method, but soil applied Si proved the best in this regard. Novelty statement Immobilization of metals i.e., cadmium (Cd) with soil-applied amendments like biomaterials and organic manure to decrease Cd concentration in plants have already been widely investigated. Silicon (Si) is a cheap in-organic and readily available element in the nature and also used for the same purpose. It can be applied both in soil as well as by foliar and soil + foliar application to decrease the metals concentration in soil and plants. However, comparative effectiveness of these three methods have not been checked simultaneously. In this study, we have studied the comparative effectiveness of Si application to soil, foliar and their combination (soil + foliar) to decrease Cd concentration during wheat crop.