Silicio para mejorar la calidad de plántulas de melón (Cucumis Melo L.) y pepino (Cucumis Sativus L..)

The addition of silicon (Si) represents a promising avenue to address agricultural challenges, providing enhancing effects onplant defense mechanisms, growth, photosynthesis, and fruit production. Therefore, the objective of this research was to understand the response of melon and cucumber to different doses of silicon on plant growth and seedling quality. Seeds of the Harper melonvariety Palmira F1 and the slicer cucumber variety Modan RZ F1 (22-951) were sown in 60-cell seedling trays filled with peatmoss (Berger®), maintained inside a growth chamber with artificial lighting, with a light environment of 305,3 μmol m-2·s-1of DFFF (photosynthetic photon flux density). A completely randomized experimental design was used, with five treatments: Si at doses of 0 (control), 1, 3, 5, and 7 mg·L-1(Sodium metasilicate®, Na2SiO3.9H2O). Treatments were applied to tray-grown plants through irrigation. Response variables included plant height (PH), leaf area (LA), stem diameter (SD), leaf greenness (LGB), dry root biomass (DRB), dry aerial biomass (AAB), total biomass (TB) of seedlings, slenderness index (SI), shoot-to-root ratio (SRR/RPR), and Dickson quality index (DQI). Silicon in melon and cucumber seedlings improved growth and quality-related parameters (SRR, SBB, TB, and DQI), with a higher DQI level in seedlings treated with a dose of 1 mg