Simulation of silicon leaching from flooded rice paddy soils in the Red River Delta, Vietnam

- Vertical transport results in a potential loss of upto 10 ton Si ha−1 from paddy soils with two, annual rice-cropping cycles.
- This loss by leaching is about one order-of-magnitude higher than potential rice uptake.
- Our experiments suggest that a strong deficiency of Si might occur near the end of the flooding period.
- A “peak application” of Si during the deficiency stage may be necessary to insure sufficient Si transfer to rice plants.