Morphological and physiological characteristics in vitro anthurium plantlets exposed to silicon

Abstract The objective was to evaluate morphological and physiological differences in anthurium plants in vitro, with the use of silicon added to the culture medium. Nodal segments were inoculated in Pierik with different sodium silicate concentrations (0.0, 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 mg L-1). After 100 days in a growth room, phytotechnical characteristics were evaluated, physiological concentrations of silicon, photosynthetic pigments and microanalysis X-ray. A higher yield of chlorophyll a and b, was observed in plants supplemented with 2.0 mg L-1 of sodium silicate. Anthurium plants showed better growth development with an increase in the number of leaves, dry weight and length of the aereal part in plants supplemented with 0.5 and 2.0 mg L-1 sodium silicate. It was also observed an increase in the number of roots of plants supplemented with 1.0 mg L-1 of sodium silicate. The use of sodium silicate in culture medium improves the quality of plantlets with an increased absorption of nutrients in the plant Anthurium.