S17 - Session O4 - Quality Traits and Mineral Profile of Carrot `Dordogne´ as Affected by Foliar Applications of Silicon.

Authors: Federico Basile *, Rosario Paolo Mauro, Camila Vanessa Buturi, Miriam Distefano, Claudio Cannata, Francesco Adorna , Francesco Giuffrida, Cherubino Leonardi

Carrot ( Daucus carota L.) represents the world's main root crop. Its fleshy taproot is very common in Western diets, being consumed as fresh vegetable or in form of processed products. Because of its composition and high per capita consumption, carrot is a valuable dietary source of carotenoids, polyphenols and minerals, thus further improving its chemical traits might properly address the growing world demand for nutrient-dense foods. In this context, plant biostimulants have recently emerged as useful tools, helping agriculture to increase yields and improving the product quality in several crops. Among these, silicon (Si) has been proven to enhance many physiological processes related also to product quality and composition. However, current information about Si effects on carrot is still poor. For this reason, we investigated the effects of foliar Si sprays as potassium silicate (0 vs.15 mmol of Si in aqueous solution, administered at 124, 131, 138 and 145 days after sowing) on quality and compositional traits of carrot roots, cv. Dordogne. The field trial was conducted during 2019-2020 near Ispica (Sicily), a typical Italian area for carrot cultivation. The results indicated that Si did not affect the crop yield, nor the root morphometric traits, but promoted their dry matter content and carotenoids concentration (by 18 and 28%, respectively), along with their antioxidant power. Concerning minerals, Si promoted the root concentration of P, Mg, Na, Zn, Mn and Cu (by 20, 16, 44, 19, 27 and 18%), but depressed the content of Fe and Mo (by 32 and 16%, respectively). Our results highlighted a clear Si-derived enhancement of pivotal nutritional traits of carrot Dordogne. For this reason, in-depth research is needed, aimed to select the best Si forms (e.g. potassium silicate vs. silicic acid) and application protocols, in order to maximize the qualitative and nutritional traits of carrot roots.