Foundations Series #1: Silicon in Plant Health & Stress Resistance with Dr. Wendy Zellner (Originally Episode 98)
This episode is part of the Foundations of Soil & Plant Science series — a curated set of conversations that still shape how I think about plant health and cultivation today. Originally released as Episode 98, this discussion with Dr. Wendy Zellner is a deep dive into silicon and its role in plant structure, stress resistance, and defense responses. We explore how silicon functions in plant physiology, common misconceptions around its use, and what growers should understand when incorporating silicon into fertility programs. Still one of the most thorough conversations we’ve had on this topic.
Dr. Zellner received her Doctorate ifrom the University of Toledo in 2012 where she trained in molecular and cellular biology, focusing on the role of silicon in plant defense responses. Upon graduation, she pursued a four-year postdoctoral position with the USDA-ARS, where she continued studying the role of silicon in alleviating both abiotic and biotic stress in tomato and tobacco. Her current studies are to design standard methods for quantifying the uptake of silicon from fertilizer material in addition to identifying uptake mechanisms for silicon in model species and testing for similar pathways in other crops.
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