The journal Discover Applied Sciences has issued a formal retraction of a review paper examining the role of silicon in supporting sustainable plant growth, environmental stress mitigation, and plant defense mechanisms. The editorial decision follows a post-publication examination that uncovered severe problems within the manuscript’s citations, prompting editors to retract the publication after losing confidence in the overall reliability of the work.
According to the official retraction notice, initial concerns were raised regarding the accuracy and validity of several references included in the article following its appearance in the journal. Subsequent investigations conducted directly by the publisher confirmed multiple irregularities across the literature list. These flaws included untraceable cited sources, incorrect citation metadata, and erroneous Digital Object Identifiers associated with the referenced publications.
The editorial office determined that they could no longer maintain confidence in the findings and synthesis presented in the article, leading directly to the decision to pull the publication from the academic record.
The original article was published on April 26, 2025, before the notice was published in Volume 8 on October 20, 2026. Authors Anuj Choudhary, Anand Sonkar, and Azamal Husen agreed with the editorial retraction, while co-author Antul Kumar is deceased. Authors Harmanjot Kaur, Khushboo Singh, Satyakam Guha, D. R. Choudhary, and Sahil Mehta did not respond to editorial correspondence concerning the retraction notice.
Subject of Research: Retraction of plant science research due to citation irregularities
Article Title: Retraction Note: Exploring the role of silicon in enhancing sustainable plant growth, defense system, environmental stress mitigation and management
Article References: Kumar, A., Choudhary, A., Kaur, H., Singh, K., Guha, S., Choudhary, D. R., Sonkar, A., Mehta, S., & Husen, A. (2026). Retraction Note: Exploring the role of silicon in enhancing sustainable plant growth, defense system, environmental stress mitigation and management. Discover Applied Sciences, 8(11), Article 1244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-026-09758-9
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1007/s42452-026-09758-9
Keywords: Discover Applied Sciences, retraction note, plant growth, silicon, defense systems, stress mitigation, reference list irregularities, untraceable sources, citation details, erroneous DOIs, editorial retraction, scientific integrity, academic publishing, Anuj Choudhary, Anand Sonkar, Azamal Husen, Springer Nature
News Source: Denise Maddox. (November 13, 2026). Journal Retracts Plant Silicon Paper Over Extensive Reference List Irregularities. Scienmag.
