quantitative, qualitative, and physicochemical characteristics of tomato as affected by foliar application of potassium silicate

Tomato fruit (solanum lycopersicum l.) has high economic value and is a vital food source for human health due to its high nutritional value. after the availability of water, nutrition is the second factor that has the greatest impact on tomato production. as a result, chemical fertilizers are used to improve the quantitative and qualitative properties of tomatoes. in this study, the effect of foliar application of potassium silicate at four concentrations [0 (control), 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3%] was investigated on tomato plants in three stages at two-week intervals. foliar application of potassium silicate was carried out in 2024 and 2055 on 'sv4129th' tomato plants in a commercial greenhouse located in markazi province, iran. this study was conducted in a completely randomized design with four treatments and four replications. the results showed that the effect of nutritional treatments on leaf dry weight, fruit dry weight, fruit number, yield, and fruit fresh weight was significant, and the 0.3% potassium silicate treatment had the highest values. based on the results obtained, the highest levels of potassium, calcium, iron, and zinc in tomato fruit were associated with the 0.3% potassium silicate treatment, which was significantly higher than the control treatment. compared to fruits from unsprayed plants, fruits from plants fed with different concentrations of potassium silicate, especially 0.3% concentration, had significantly higher levels of chlorophyll a, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids. the results of the study showed that foliar application of potassium silicate has great potential for improving the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of tomato fruits.