ABSTRACT
The influence of silicon in enhancing plants resistance to some abiotic stressors such as salinity, drought, UV radiation, flooding and heavier metal toxicities is discussed. The results of numerous studies showing the positive effect of exogenous silicon on plant growth, content of photosynthetic pigments in plant tissues, intensity of photosynthetic processes, decrease in the accumulation of reactive oxygen species and inhibition of the lipid peroxidation processes are presented. In some cases, the changing activities of antioxidant enzymes – superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione reductase, guaiacol peroxidase and catalase, which are involved in the neutralizing of the reactive oxygen species – are analyzed.
