Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and Phytolith Analysis: An Approach to Study the Deposition and Distribution Pattern of Silicon in Different Parts of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Plant

The distribution/deposition pattern of silicon and minerals in different parts of wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants was determined using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and phytolith analysis. The LIBS spectra of different parts of wheat plants gave spectral signature of Ca, Mg, Si, Fe, Na, K, C, H, O and N. Phytolith analysis showed that the leaves of wheat plants are the highest silicon accumulator followed by the awn, leaf sheath, lemma, rachilla and stem. The results of LIBS analysis and the phytolith analysis were in close agreement. The multivariate statistical analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), was applied to the data set of the LIBS spectra of the different parts of the wheat plants. PCA on LIBS data matrix gives PC1 (99 %) and PC2 (1 %) which explains the 100 % variance in the data set. The PCA plots discriminate the vegetative and fertile parts of the wheat plant. Furthermore, the appearance of silicon in each part of the wheat plants also demonstrates its significance in biocement production