Tests have shown that using silicon as a seed treatment and as a foliar spray can strengthen crops to allow them to fight against slug damage.

A recently launched product, Sirius, is a biostimulant with 21% silicon that protects seeds and strengthens the cells of plants by enhancing cuticle thickness and increasing leaf hair length.

“The application of Sirius at early emergence (GS11 stage) as a foliar spray has been shown to reduce slug damage by 44% over a 72-hour period in laboratory conditions using wheat seedlings,” explained Orion FT's technical manager, Kate Williams.

It delivers silicon in the form of monosilicic acid, achieved using Orion FT’s iNHiB technology which makes silicon available to the plant immediately, helping to strengthen its natural defences. The effect is a crop that is less palatable to slugs and more resilient to attack.

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Wheat seeds treated with Sirius and exposed to slugs showed a reduction in seed hollowing. “Slugs usually cause the worst damage to winter wheat very early on, feeding on seeds almost immediately after sowing. Sirius reduced grain hollowing by more than 60%. When slugs were offered 25 seeds, only seven were damaged when treated with Sirius, versus 18 with untreated seeds,” she explained.

Slugs are attracted to seeds within hours of sowing and will feed as soon as the seed has taken in water, eating the embryo, killing the seed, and often eating part or all of the endosperm, resulting in the characteristic seed hollowing.

“This seed treatment essentially makes the seed less palatable to the slug. When applied as a seed treatment this helps enable the seed to germinate. When applied as a foliar spray, it strengthens the plant and also makes it less palatable to slugs,” she concluded.