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What is Silicon?

Elemental silicon (Si), after oxygen, is the second most abundant element in the earth’s crust. Not to be confused with “silicone,” the gel like material used to make cell phone covers and cook wear. Silicon is the primary component of sand, rocks, clay and countless natural minerals known to us as “silica” or “silicates.” Silicon is all around us. It’s what glass is primarily made of and commonly used in electronics & semiconductors. Silicon is a metalloid- it’s neither a metal nor a conductor making it an extremely marvelous element. Plants can only take up silicon in the form of mono-silicic acid which is the only water-soluble form of silicon also refereed to as Soluble Silicon. For this reason, crushing sand, silica, glass and other silicon composits into soil does very little to benet earth & agriculture due of the lack of Si bioavailibility. Plants transport Si through their roots via the xylem and then distribute soluble silicon to where the plant requires. Silicon is ultimately absorbed and polymerized as silica into cell walls where structure & strength improves stocks, leaves, owers & fruits to make a stronger more resilient crop. Silicon is ocially designated as a plant benecial substance by the Association of American Plant Food Control Ocials (AAPFCO).