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Boron in Agriculture Koos Coetzee - MSc Soil Science • Christo Kritzinger Researcher Boron deficiency is a common deficiency in crops. It is the most widespread micronutrient deficiency around the world and causes large losses in crop production and crop quality. Boron deficiency affects vegetative and reproductive growth of plants, resulting in inhibition of cell expansion, death of meristem, and reduced fertility. Plants contain boron both in a water-soluble and insoluble form. In plants, the amount of water-soluble boron fluctuates with the amount of boron supplied, while insoluble boron does not. The appearance of boron deficiency coincides with the decrease of water-insoluble boron. It appears that the insoluble boron is the functional form while the soluble boron represents the surplus. Boron is essential for the growth of crops. The primary function of the element is to provide structural integrity to the cell wall in plants. Other functions likely include the maintenance of the plasma membrane and other metabolic pathways. Soil Conditions: Boron is present in the soil in many forms, the most common being Boric Acid (H3BO3). An adequate amount of boron in the soil is 4 mg/kg. If the boron content of the soil drops below 0.2 mg/kg then boron deficiency is likely to be observed. Boron deficiency is also observed in basic soils with a high pH. Soils with low organic matter content (<1.5%) are also susceptible to boron deficiency. Highly leached sandy soils are also characteristic of boron deficiency because the boron will not be retained in the soil. Boron toxicity is also possible if the boron content of the soil is high enough that the plant cannot cope with the excess boron. The levels at which boron is toxic to plants varies with different species of plants. Boron Requirements: Boron is an essential micronutrient which means it is essential for plant growth and development, but is required in very small quantities. Although Boron requirements vary among crops, the optimum boron content of the leaves for most crops is 20-100 ppm. Excess boron can result in boron toxicity and the toxicity level varies between plants. Application of Boron: X-Treem B Liquid (13% boron), X-Treem B Powder 130 (13% boron) or X-Treem B Power 200 (20% boron) can be applied to soils to correct boron deficiency. Typical applications of actual boron are about 1.0 kg/hectare but optimum levels of boron vary with plant type. Borax, Boric Acid or borate can be dissolved in water and sprayed or applied to soil as a dust. Excess boron is toxic to plants so care must be taken to ensure correct application rate and even coverage. Leaves of many plants are damaged by boron; therefore, when in doubt, only apply to soil. Application of boron may not correct boron deficiency in alkaline soils because even with the addition of boron, it may remain unavailable for plant absorption. Continued application of boron may be necessary in soils that are susceptible to leaching such as sandy soils. Flushing soils containing toxic levels of boron with water can remove the boron through leaching. Quality Boron Source OPTIMUM RANGE for most nutrients } Optimum Range for Boron Hidden hunger Severe deficiency Typical doseresponse curve for essential trace elements in crops Hidden or mild toxicity Boron typical dose responsive curve Severe toxicity From: Micronutrients and Crop Production, An introduction: Alloway 2004 Functions of boron in the plant: Once boron has been absorbed by the plant and incorporated into the various structures that require boron, it is unable to disassemble these structures and re-transport boron through the plant resulting in boron being a non-mobile nutrient. Due to translocation difficulties the youngest leaves often show deficiency symptoms first. Boron is part of the dRG-II-B complex which is involved in the cross linking for pectin located in the primary cell wall and the middle lamella of plant cells. This cross linking is thought to stabilize the matrix of plant cell walls. Other important functions of boron in crops are: carbohydrate (sugar) metabolism, protein synthesis, germination and pollination. The B requirement is much higher for reproductive growth than for vegetative growth in most plant species. Boron increases flower production and retention, pollen tube elongation and germination, and seed and fruit development. A deficiency of B can cause incomplete pollination of corn or prevent maximum pod-set in soybeans. Sugar Translocation: Photosynthesis transforms sunlight energy into plant energy compounds such as sugars. For this process to continue in plants, the sugars must be moved away from the site of their development, and stored or used to make other compounds. MoB Advancing Boron Technology XPRESS Boron increases the rate of transport of sugars (which are produced by photosynthesis in mature plant leaves) to actively growing regions and also in developing fruits. Boron is essential for providing sugars which are needed for root growth in all plants and also for normal development of root nodules in legumes such as Lucerne, soybeans and peanuts.