Potassium Silicate Optimizes the Growth of Naturally Colored Fiber Cotton in the Semi-arid

Potassium silicate optimizes the growth of naturally colored fiber cotton in the semi-arid of Paraíba state, Brazil. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the growth of naturally colored fiber cotton cultivars under silicon foliar application. The experiment was carried out in the experimental area of Embrapa / Algodão, in the Northeast region of Brazil, using a completely randomized design, with 3 ˣ 5 factorial scheme, which was composed by three cotton cultivars ('BRS Topázio', 'BRS Safira', and 'BRS Rubi'), five silicon concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 mg L-1), sprayed weekly on leaves, and four replicates. Growth data were submitted to analysis of variance, regression, correlation, and mean test. Treatments had a significant effect on growth variables. When calculating the effects of the factors, it was verified that the cultivars differed among them for the evaluated parameters. For 'BRS Topázio', silicon reduced plant height and increased the stem expansion rate. The application of silicon increased 'BRS Safira' plant height and growth rate. For 'BRS Rubi', silicon increased plant height and stem expansion rate.