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A field experiment was conducted using a pot that included a study of the effect of using Potassium Silicate and Novo safe against the wheat galls disease (Anguina tritici) on Sham 6 wheat. The results of the study showed that the treatment of PS and NS improved plant vegetative parameters and increased productivity. It also reduced nematode infection. The (NS + PS)2 treatment showed the highest average for plant high 65.26 cm, compared with Control treatment 49.66 cm. The (NS + PS)2 treatment also recorded a significant difference in leaf area recorded 33.99 cm2, compared with CT 26.29 cm2. The (NS + PS)2 treatment and the PS2 treatment recorded the highest average for 1000 grain weight, which recorded 39.66 and 39.73 g, respectively, compared with CT treatment, which recorded 14.16 g. The PS2 treatment, NS + PS 2 treatment and NS2 compound also recorded a reduction in infection standard, they recorded a significant difference for the average gall weight, which recorded 3.36, 3.43 and 3.93 gall/mg, respectively, compared with CT which recorded 6.25 gall/mg. PS2 treatment also recorded the lowest average for the percentage of spikes infection which recorded 61.53%, which differ significantly from the other treatments Except for the NS2 that didn’t record a difference, compared with CT which recorded the highest average spikes infection 85%. treatments of PS1, NS2, and (NS + PS)2 also achieved significant differences in the percentage of infected grains, recording 20.92, 22.34, 23.59, and 22.43%, respectively, compared with CT, which recorded 72.5%.

In the fall of 2022 A.D., researchers in Salah al-Din Governorate’s Al-Dour district sprayed safflower plants with potassium silicates at varying concentrations and planted them at different times to see how the plants’ yield traits changed. The first of the two components of the experiment was a solution of potassium silicates in varying volumes (0, 200, and 400 ml). Using the symbols (B0, B1, and B2), the first part is the L -1 . Second, there are four separate planting dates, which make up the second component. The symbols (A1, A2, A3 and A4) stand for the dates 1/11, 15/11, 1/12 and 15/12, respectively. Findings showed that the binary interaction treatment B2A1, which included potassium silicate spraying and planting dates, yielded the best results in terms of disc diameter, total seed yield (2.6 cm), number of discs per plant (39), number of seeds per disc (31), weight of 1000 seeds (41 g), and tons per hectare (4.3 ton).

The continuity of traditional planting systems in the last few decades has encountered its most significant challenge in the harsh changes in the global climate, leading to frustration in the plant growth and productivity, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions cultivated with moderate or sensitive crops to abiotic stresses. Faba bean, like most legume crops, is considered a moderately sensitive crop to saline soil and/or saline water. In this connection, a field experiment was conducted during the successive winter seasons 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 in a salt-affected soil to explore the combined effects of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and potassium (K) silicate on maintaining the soil quality, performance, and productivity of faba bean plants irrigated with either fresh water or saline water. Our findings indicated that the coupled use of PGPR and K silicate under the saline water irrigation treatment had the capability to reduce the levels of exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) in the soil and to promote the activity of some soil enzymes (urease and dehydrogenase), which recorded nearly non-significant differences compared with fresh water (control) treatment, leading to reinstating the soil quality. Consequently, under salinity stress, the combined application motivated the faba bean vegetative growth, e.g., root length and nodulation, which reinstated the K+/Na+ ions homeostasis, leading to the lessening or equalizing of the activity level of enzymatic antioxidants (CAT, POD, and SOD) compared with the controls of both saline water and fresh water treatments, respectively. Although the irrigation with saline water significantly increased the osmolytes concentration (free amino acids and proline) in faba bean plants compared with fresh water treatment, application of PGPR or K-silicate notably reduced the osmolyte levels below the control treatment, either under stress or non-stress conditions. On the contrary, the concentrations of soluble assimilates (total soluble proteins and total soluble sugars) recorded pronounced increases under tested treatments, which enriched the plant growth, the nutrients (N, P, and K) uptake and translocation to the sink organs, which lastly improved the yield attributes (number of pods plant−1, number of seeds pod−1, 100-seed weight). It was concluded that the combined application of PGPR and K-silicate is considered a profitable strategy that is able to alleviate the harmful impact of salt stress alongside increasing plant growth and productivity.

Mineral geopolymer binders can be an attractive and more sustainable alternative to traditional Portland cement materials for special applications. In geopolymer technology the precursor is a source of silicon and aluminium oxides, the second component is an alkaline solution. In the synthesis of geopolymer binders the most commonly used alkaline solution is a mixture of sodium or potassium water glass with sodium or potassium hydroxide or silicate solution with a low molar ratio, which is more convenient and much safer in use. In this paper, we present the influence of sodium or potassium silicate solution on the physical and mechanical properties of fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag-based geopolymer mortars. Mercury intrusion porosimetry and microstructural observation allowed for comparing the structure of materials with a different type of alkaline solution. The evolution of compressive and flexural tensile strength with time determined for composites using 10%, 30% and 50% slag contents (referring to fly ash mass) was analysed. The tests were performed after 3, 7, 14 and 28 days. It was observed that, as the amount of slag used increases in the precursor, the strength of the material grows. Mortars with the sodium alkaline solution were characterised by a higher strength at a young age. However, the values of strength 28 days were higher for geopolymers with potassium alkaline solution reaching 75 MPa in compression. Geopolymer mortar microstructure observation indicates a high matrix heterogeneity with numerous microcracks. Matrix defects may be caused by the rapid kinetics of the material binding reaction or shrinkage associated with the drying of the material.

There are many technological innovations in the field of agriculture to improve the sustainability of farmed products by reducing the chemicals used. Uses of biostimulants such as plant extracts or microorganisms are a promising process that increases plant growth and the efficient use of available soil resources. To determine the effects of some biostimulants' treatments on the photosynthetic pigments and biochemicals composition of zucchini plants, two experiments were conducted in 2019 and 2020 under greenhouse conditions. In this work, the effects of beneficial microbes ( Trichoderma viride and Pseudomonas fluorescens ), as well as three extracts from Eucalyptus camaldulensis leaf extract (LE), Citrus sinensis LE, and Ficus benghalensis fruit extract (FE) with potassium silicate (K 2 SiO 3 ) on productivity and biochemical composition of zucchini fruits, were assessed as biostimulants. The results showed that E. camaldulensis LE (4,000 mg/L) + K 2 SiO 3 (500 mg/L) and T. viride (10 6 spore/ml) + K 2 SiO 3 (500 mg/L) gave the highest significance yield of zucchini fruits. Furthermore, the total reading response of chlorophylls and carotenoids was significantly affected by biostimulants' treatments. The combination of K 2 SiO 3 with E. camaldulensis LE increased the DPPH scavenging activity and the total phenolic content of zucchini fruits, in both experiments. However, the spraying with K 2 SiO 3 did not observe any effects on the total flavonoid content of zucchini fruits. Several phenolic compounds were identified via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) from the methanol extracts of zucchini fruits such as syringic acid, eugenol, caffeic acid, pyrogallol, gallic acid, ascorbic acid, ferulic acid, α-tocopherol, and ellagic acid. The main elemental content (C and O) analyzed via energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) of leaves was affected by the application of biostimulants. The success of this work could lead to the development of cheap and easily available safe biostimulants for enhancing the productivity and biochemical of zucchini plants.

A field experiment was conducted in one of the agricultural fields in Al-Dour district of Salah al-Din province in the fall season of 2022 A.D, with the aim of determining the most appropriate concentration for spraying with potassium silicate and the best planting date in some traits of the vegetative growth of the safflower plant. The experiment included two factors, the first factor being potassium silicate, with three concentrations (0,200 and 400) ml L -1 and its symbols are (B 0 , B 1 and B 2 ), and the second factor is the planting dates and four different dates. The first date is 1/11, the second date is 15/11, the third date is 30/11, and the fourth date is 15/12 and its symbols are (A 1 and A 2 , A 3 and A 4 ), as the results showed that the most appropriate concentration for spraying with potassium silicate is (400) ml L -1 , as it gave the highest values for the height of the plant, the number of branches on the main stem, the leaf area, the percentage of chlorophyll at flowering, 50%, and the number of days until full maturity, as it reached 133.2 cm, 17.2 branches plant -1 ، 3184.5 cm 2 ، 57.9 spad، and 198.5 days، respectively, while the best date was the first date, which reached 155.0 cm، 17.6 branches plant -1 ، 3394.0 cm 2 ، 59.0 spad, and 207.7 days, respectively, for the mentioned traits above.

Industrial activities have escalated beryllium (Be) release in environment which negatively affect plant growth and human health. This investigation describes Be-induced stress in pepper and its palliation by application of pineapple fruit peel biochar (BC) and potassium silicate (Si). The treatment of Be reduced seedling length, biomass, and physiological attributes and enhanced electrolyte leakage, hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), superoxide (O 2 •− ) level in pepper plants; however, these oxidative stress markers were reduced with combined treatment (Be + BC + Si). Application of BC and Si also lowered Be cumulation in roots and shoots of pepper. Under combined treatment, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutathione reductase (GR) activities exhibited significant enhancement 19, 7.6, 22.8, and 48%, respectively, in Be-stressed pepper. The Be + BC + Si increased peroxidase (POD), glutathione S-transferase (GPX), and glutathione peroxidase (GST) activities 121, 55, and 53%, respectively, as compared to Be-treated pepper. Methylglyoxal level was reduced in pepper with rise in glyoxalase I and II enzymes . Thus, combined application of SS and BC effectively protects pepper against oxidative stress induced by Be by increasing both antioxidant defense and glyoxalase systems. Hence, pineapple fruit peel biochar along with potassium silicate can be used for enhancing crop productivity under Be-contaminated soil.

Chitosan and collagen are natural polymers widely used in biomaterials science; however, their inherent low stability and solubility present several challenges to obtain formulations suitable for potential clinical applications. In this study, tannic acid (TA) was employed as a cross-linker to improve the properties of thin films made from chitosan and collagen. In addition, potassium silicate (PS) was added as an inorganic filler, to produce innovative biocomposite films. The impact of TA and PS on physicochemical (i.e., material homogeneity, surface free energy, degradation, and stability roughness of surface), antioxidant, hemocompatibility, as well as cellular responses was evaluated. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of TA significantly enhanced the physicochemical properties of the chitosan/collagen-based films. The addition of 5% PS resulted in an increase in surface free energy and a decrease in roughness parameters. Furthermore, both surface free energy and cellular responses improved with the increased TA concentration in the biocomposite firms. Meanwhile, the hemolysis rate remained below 5%, indicating the potential suitability of these materials for medical applications, such as coatings or scaffolds for bone or skin wound healing.

The silica sol and potassium hydroxide solution are mixed under certain conditions to form a precursor solution, which is poured into a closed cavity and gelled at 75 °C for 24 h to form potassium silicate gel. The structural evolution, stability, and transmittance of potassium silicate gels with different SiO 2 /K 2 O molar ratios were investigated. Raman spectroscopy is applied to analyze the SiO 4 tetrahedral network of potassium silicate gel and the polymerization index I p (A500/A1000) increases linearly with the increase of the molar ratio. The relative fractional area of different species Q n as a function of the molar ratio is described in detail through the deconvolution of band 700–1200 cm −1 . A ( Q 2  +  Q 3 )/ A ( Q 2  +  Q 3  +  Q 4 ) is first employed to characterize the polymerization degree of the SiO 4 tetrahedral network, which is proven to be reliable. In addition, the stability of potassium silicate gel is measured indirectly by its deformation over time. The higher the molar ratio, the smaller the deformation and the better the stability. When the molar ratio is >6, excessive silica not only acts as a forming agent to increase the polymerization degree of the SiO 4 tetrahedral network, but also acts as a filler added into the potassium silicate gel, causing a rapid decrease in transmittance and a sharp increase in haze. The polymerization degree of potassium silicate gel increases linearly with the increase of the SiO 2 /K 2 O molar ratio. The higher the polymerization of the SiO 4 tetrahedral network, the smaller the deformation of potassium silicate gel over time and the higher its stability. Highlights The polymerization index I p increases linearly with the increase of the SiO 2 /K 2 O molar ratio. A ( Q 2  +  Q 3 )/ A ( Q 2  +  Q 3  +  Q 4 ) employed to characterize the polymerization degree is proven to be reliable. The higher the SiO 2 /K 2 O molar ratio, the better the stability of the potassium silicate gel. The excess silica causes a rapid decrease in transmittance and a sharp increase in haze.

Potassium silicate is an essential fertilizer for the optimum growth and yield of many silica-accumulating crops. Research on producing LPS from agro-industrial wastes is limited. This study investigated the effects of re-ashing pretreatment, potassium hydroxide (KOH) concentration, and extraction time on the yield and properties of liquid potassium silicate (LPS) from palm oil mill boiler ash (POMBA), assessing its potential as a liquid fertilizer. POMBA, with or without re-ashing pretreatment, was extracted using KOH to determine the necessity of re-ashing. The selected raw material was extracted with varying KOH concentrations (6%, 8%, 10%) and extraction times (60, 90, 120min). Extraction of POMBA with re-ashing pretreatment, 6% KOH, and 120min extraction time significantly produced LPS with the highest available SiO 2 concentration (18.50%) (p<0.05) and a 12.98% yield. This available SiO 2 concentration was comparable to that of commercial liquid silica fertilizer (20.71%). The LPS produced also contained 19.22% total potassium (as K 2 O). The properties of POMBA-derived LPS met the Indonesian minimum technical requirements for liquid compound fertilizers, highlighting the significant potential of POMBA as a cost-effective and sustainable source of liquid fertilizer.