Silicon guide
Silicon is a beneficial element: not essential for all plants, but strongly useful for rice, sugarcane, wheat and many other crops. Plants...
Read the full guideSilicon in rice and sugarcane: stronger stems and fewer pest and disease problems
Why rice and sugarcane take up so much silicon, how it strengthens them against lodging, pests and disease, and how to keep it in the soil.
Rice and sugarcane take up more silicon than almost any other nutrient. They lay it down in their leaves and stems, which become stronger, stand more upright and resist stem borers, planthoppers and fungal diseases. When straw, husk and trash are burnt or carried away, that silicon leaves the field. Returning residues and using silicate sources keeps it in balance.
By Gafar Laiya and the Gujarat Bio Organics team. Updated November 2026.
What silicon does in these crops
- Stiffer stems, less lodging.
- Upright leaves that catch more light.
- Harder tissue against borers and planthoppers.
- Less blast and brown spot in rice.
- Better tolerance to drought and salt.
Keeping silicon in the field
- Do not burn straw or trash; incorporate or compost it.
- Use rice husk and husk ash where available.
- Use silicate sources or soluble silicon sprays as advised.
Read more
Doses depend on the crop, soil and product, so this page gives methods, not amounts. Take the dose from your soil test report, the product label or your local agriculture officer or KVK. Results differ from farm to farm with soil, weather, crop and management. Farmer experiences on this site are their own reports, not a promise of results.
Read next
Silicon deficiency signs: lodging, droopy leaves and disease
How silicon shortage shows in rice, sugarcane, wheat, banana and vegetables, and why it is easy to miss.
Read the full guideHow Gujarat Bio Organics can help
Since 2006, lakhs of farmers from Kashmir to Kanyakumari have used Immunity products on almost every crop: from the mango farms around Somnath to the apple orchards of Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir, the tea estates of Assam and Darjeeling, and the banana, coconut and cardamom farms of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Each Special is one formula made for one crop and its common problems. Tell us your crop, soil test and what you see, and our team will tell you what to check, whether a micronutrient correction is needed, and which Special fits your programme.
- Paddy guide and Immunity Paddy Special
- Sugarcane guide and Immunity Sugarcane Special
- Wheat and cereals guide and Immunity Dhanya Special
- Banana guide and Immunity Banana Special
Results differ from farm to farm with soil, weather, crop and management. Farmer experiences on this site are their own reports, not a promise of results.
Questions
Does burning sugarcane trash remove silicon?
Burning or carrying away trash and straw removes the silicon they hold from the field and damages soil organic matter.
Will silicon replace pesticides?
No. It strengthens the crop's own defences, which can reduce pest and disease pressure. Pest control still follows field scouting.