Abstract
IT has long been known that a group of about ten elements plays an essential part hi plant nutrition, but it is only during recent years that it has become recognised that other elements are of equal importance, though in such small amounts that their presence was previously unsuspected. Manganese and boron are the outstanding examples of these minor elements—‘minor’ only in the sense that the requisite quantity is so small. Copper, zinc and other substances may also play an essential part hi specific cases, and active research is in progress. The case with regard to boron is of definite economic importance. The pioneer work of Agulhon (1910) and Warington (1923) established the fact that in the entire absence of boron certain species, at least, are unable to develop properly. The necessary amount of boron is so small that most soils contain sufficient for the normal development of plants. During the last few years attention has been focused on certain obscure plant diseases for which no adequate explanation was forthcoming, and hi many cases amelioration has been obtained by the application of boron compounds to the soil. Heart rot of sugar beet and brown heart of turnips are notable examples of this, and it is becoming a recognised practice to include a small quantity of boron compounds with the fertiliser, 12–20 Ib. of borax per acre representing the safe limit, beyond which there is danger of injuring the plants by poisoning them. The great economic importance of this point has led to the establishment of a Boron Agricultural Bureau under the aegis of Borax Consolidated, Ltd., for the purpose of collecting and distributing information with regard to the use of borax for agricultural purposes. A word of warning may not be out of place. The beneficial results so far obtained by the application of borax as a specific against certain plant diseases may lead to undue optimism, and to a tendency to attribute every obscure plant disease to lack of boron, without adequate inquiry. The necessity for continued research must be emphasised, as it seems possible that the correct use of various ‘minor’ elements may lead to definite and valuable progress in agricultural practice.
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Borax as a Fertiliser. Nature 137, 900 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137900a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137900a0