Silicon, however, is not considered to be an essential element for
higher plants, but it has been proved to be beneficial for the growth
and development of many plants, particularly graminaceous plants
such as rice and sugarcane [25,26]. Like most of the Poaceae, wheat
is a Si accumulator, which implies that Si concentrations in shoots
are generally over 10 mg g−1 and that the [Si]/[Ca] ratio is less than