Oats are one of the world’s major feed and food crops, possessing outstanding nutritional value. The development of the plant’s root system plays a decisive role in nutrient uptake, thereby indirectly influencing crop yield as well. In the present study, we analyzed the effect of silicon, sulfur, and the combined application of these nutrients on the vegetative development of winter oats in a pot experiment under natural weather conditions—with the exception of water supply - in a non-controlled environment.
Sulfur (S) is an essential nutrient, as it is a component of the amino acids cysteine and methionine, making it vital for protein synthesis, and it plays an important role in enzymatic processes and plant defense mechanisms. Silicon (Si) is generally not considered an essential element; however, it has been shown to have numerous beneficial physiological effects in cereal crops, as it increases plant strength by incorporating into the cell wall and improves plants’ resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. The combined use of these two elements can result in a synergistic effect. Due to the effects of climate change in Hungary, the use of technological elements to mitigate plant stress is becoming increasingly important; foliar fertilizers containing sulfur and silicon can serve as a good alternative, thereby enhancing yield stability even under less predictable climatic conditions. The studies were conducted using instrumental measurements and objective analytical methods
Based on our results, plants treated with silicon and sulfur showed the most favorable SPAD values, while no detectable difference was observed among treatments in terms of NDVI values. When examining plant height, the combined treatment yielded the highest average values, similarly to the tillering rate; however, these differences were not statistically significant compared to the control. For root length, the highest average values were also measured with the combined treatment, which was statistically significantly different from the results of the other treatments. Regarding root mass, the sulfur treatment yielded the highest values; however, in this case, the difference was not significant. Based on the results of our experiment, it can be concluded that the use of the combined treatment had a positive effect on SPAD, plant height, tillering rate, and root length, promoting plant growth and thereby indirectly influencing crop yield.