Effects of Silicon Alone and Combined with Organic Matter and Trichoderma harzianum on Sorghum Yield, Ions Accumulation and Soil Properties under Saline Irrigation
, Emanuelle Maria da Silva 1, Leonardo Raimundo da Silva 2, Maria Betânia Galvão dos Santos Freire 3, Eduardo Soares de Souza 1, Sérgio Luiz Ferreira-Silva 1, José Geraldo Eugênio de França 1, Thieres George Freire da Silva 1 and Eurico Lustosa do Nascimento Alencar 4
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsEnhancing the productivity of saline soils is important in semiarid regions. The article explored the effects of Si alone and combined treatments on forage sorghum growth and yield. The results are useful for improving the agricultural management of sorghum under saline irrigation. However, there are some problems should be considered, mainly in the statistic method of the data.
1. The “However” in Line118 should be deleted.
2. Error bars should be contended in figures. The standard deviation should be contended after the means in tables.
3. It is confused why only part of the data labeled by letters to show the difference significance among treatments. Was the analysis of variance conducted among cuts or treatments? Why there was no labels of difference significance in Table6? Was that mean there was no significant difference between P content in stem in cut 3 (24.33-67.31) and others?
4. Line 420, 430: state should be stated? Line 423 have should be had? Others.
5. The full name of the treatments did not show in table 6.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageMinor editing of English language required
Author Response
We were very grateful and pleased with the criticisms and contributions made to the work by the reviewers. We understand that they contributed to improving the manuscript, and we hope this meets the requirements of the reviewers. We are available for any clarification.
Reviewer 1
- The “However” in Line118 should be deleted.
We have done it.
- Error bars should be contended in figures. The standard deviation should be contended after the means in tables.
We have inserted error bars as required.
About the standard deviation, the Tables are too big. We don’t have space to insert standard deviation. Please, consider only with the letters. We have seen several works in literature where the data are exposited similarly to ours (only with the average value followed by the letters).
- It is confused why only part of the data labeled by letters to show the difference significance among treatments. Was the analysis of variance conducted among cuts or treatments? Why there was no labels of difference significance in Table6? Was that mean there was no significant difference between P content in stem in cut 3 (24.33-67.31) and others?
Good observation. The analysis of variance was conducted for each "sorghum cut" separately. We don't know what happened, but indeed, as the table is too big, the letters were embedded. We are suggesting to the editor leave the tables in "landscape format," and the letters certainly will appear. For example, for P (stem) in cut 3, we inserted the letters, but it does not appear in the table due to its size (CONTROL = 24.33B; SI = 53.85A; SI + OM = 41.75B; SI + T = 64.87A; SI+T+OM = 67.31A). We asked the editor for this observation!
- Line 420, 430: state should be stated? Line 423 have should be had? Others.
We have corrected all the sentences.
- The full name of the treatments did not show in table 6.
We inserted the label below Table 6.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsComments for Authors – Manuscript [Agriculture- 2691721]
The manuscript " Effects of silicon alone and combined with organic matter and Trichoderma harzianum on sorghum yield, ions accumulation and soil properties under saline irrigation " by Nunes da Silva et al. investigates the utility of using silicon (Si), alone, and in combination with goat manure (organic matter) and Trichoderma harzianum in ameliorating the effects of salinity stress in forage sorghum.
The study presents interesting and reliable results on how combining silicon and OM or Trichoderma considerably improves soil and plant nutrient levels, and resultant yield in forage sorghum under saline conditions. With the increased problem of salinity stress and water scarcity across semi-arid and arid regions, these results are particularly important for enhancing crop stress resilience and productivity in such regions.
The article is well written, experimental methods performed well, and results analysed and described in a reliable manner. However, before the paper can be considered fit for publication, the following issues need to be addressed.
Minor Comments
1) Possibly due to poor English grammar, the following sentence from line 37-39 is not accurate ‘‘Increased concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases are likely indicators that climate change significantly impacts soil salinization [2] by causing an excess in groundwater extraction in dry regions of the world [3]’’. The two aspects referred to here have been incorrectly presented. Please revise this sentence for clarity.
2) Few introductory sentences to the Discussion should be provided before section 4.1.
3) The conclusion should be a single paragraph, and its heading changed to ‘Conclusion’.
4) Line 100: Please cite few examples of studies after the word ‘literature’.
5) Line 73: you cannot start a sentence by ‘[22] report … ‘. Rather, start by the actual author`s name.
6) Line 138: the word ‘experiment’ should be changed to ‘experimental units’
7) Line 155: name of city, province and country should be cited for National Institute of Meteorology in brackets.
8) Line 187: ‘‘to analyze’’ should be changed to ‘‘for the analysis of’’
9) Line 231: put a comma after ‘Then’’
10) Line 253: the phrase ‘‘it is possible to observe that’’ should be deleted. This will make the sentence more direct.
11) Line 280: Please make this sentence more complete and specific ‘‘There was no difference in the subsurface in relation to the control treatment (Table 280).’’ As it stands, it is incomplete or not giving a clear meaning.
12) Line 268: change ‘is’ to ‘was’. Do the same in line 291.
13) Line 473: there is no need to capitalize the word ‘Sorghum’ here.
14) Line 514: ‘plant tissue’ should possibly be ‘… plant tissue level’.
15) Line 581: the word ‘worsened’ is vague here. Please replace it with a more specific one.
16) Line 584: the word ‘concerning’ should be changed to ‘in comparison with’.
Date of Review: 24 October 2023
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageMinor English grammar mistakes need to be attended to as highlighted in my comments above.
Author Response
We were very grateful and pleased with the criticisms and contributions made to the work by the reviewers. We understand that they contributed to improving the manuscript, and we hope this meets the requirements of the reviewers. We are available for any clarification.
Reviewer 2
- Possibly due to poor English grammar, the following sentence from line 37-39 is not accurate ‘‘Increased concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases are likely indicators that climate change significantly impacts soil salinization [2]by causing an excess in groundwater extraction in dry regions of the world [3]’’. The two aspects referred to here have been incorrectly presented. Please revise this sentence for clarity.
We have improved the sentence!
- Few introductory sentences to the Discussion should be provided before section 4.1.
We have inserted a short sentence.
- The conclusion should be a single paragraph, and its heading changed to ‘Conclusion’.
We have done the changes.
- Line 100: Please cite few examples of studies after the word ‘literature’.
We cited some works. That is an excellent observation!
- Line 73: you cannot start a sentence by ‘[22] report … ‘. Rather, start by the actual author`s name.
It was done!
- Line 138: the word ‘experiment’ should be changed to ‘experimental units’
Change has been done!
- Line 155: name of city, province and country should be cited for National Institute of Meteorology in brackets.
Change has been done!
- Line 187: ‘‘to analyze’’ should be changed to ‘‘for the analysis of’’
Change has been done!
- Line 231: put a comma after ‘Then’’
Change has been done!
- Line 253: the phrase ‘‘it is possible to observe that’’ should be deleted. This will make the sentence more direct.
Change has been done!
- Line 280: Please make this sentence more complete and specific ‘‘There was no difference in the subsurface in relation to the control treatment (Table 280).’’ As it stands, it is incomplete or not giving a clear meaning.
We have improved the sentence.
- Line 268: change ‘is’ to ‘was’. Do the same in line 291.
Change has been done!
- Line 473: there is no need to capitalize the word ‘Sorghum’ here.
Change has been done!
- Line 514: ‘plant tissue’ should possibly be ‘… plant tissue level’.
We inserted “level” at the sentence.
- Line 581: the word ‘worsened’ is vague here. Please replace it with a more specific one.
We replaced by “deteriorated”.
- Line 584: the word ‘concerning’ should be changed to ‘in comparison with’.
Change has been done!
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript "Effects of silicon alone and combined with organic matter and Trichoderma harzianum on sorghum yield, ions accumulation and soil properties under saline irrigation" presented by da Silva and et al. has good scientific impact and results were very well presented. The manuscript is appropriate for the journal processes after making major corrections. I have the following remarks for the authors:
Line 23: Add (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench) after sorghum…
Line 27: When the cuts occurred?
Line 31: add Silicon before (Si)
Introduction is good but the reason for using the forage sorghum in this study was just for testing salinity tolerance?
Materials and Methods, results and discussion were very well written but I do have a problem with the results of one season. What if the rainfall of the second season is short; would affect the results?
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageEnglish style is good
Author Response
We were very grateful and pleased with the criticisms and contributions made to the work by the reviewers. We understand that they contributed to improving the manuscript, and we hope this meets the requirements of the reviewers. We are available for any clarification.
Reviewer 3
- Line 23: Add (Sorghum bicolor(L) Moench) after sorghum…
It was inserted.
- Line 27: When the cuts occurred?
Every three months after germination. We have inserted the information.
- Line 31: add Silicon before (Si)
It was inserted.
- Introduction is good but the reason for using the forage sorghum in this study was just for testing salinity tolerance?
Also for using this crop for animal feed. (In this sense, forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench) is an essential source of animal feed that has increased its importance in many semiarid regions of the globe due to its high yield and ability to use water effectively, even under water and salt stress conditions)
- Materials and Methods, results and discussion were very well written but I do have a problem with the results of one season. What if the rainfall of the second season is short; would affect the results?
Thanks! It’s a good question. Probably more salt would concentrate in the soil, changing plant yield and soil properties. However, we are discussing the data according to the results found and also for the climate conditions encountered during the experiment time.
Round 2
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear authors,
Thank you very much for taking care of the comments.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageGood
