Boron in Agriculture

Abstract

THE importance of boron in agriculture is now well recognized, and in the recently published monograph on the subject, R. W. G. Dennis and D. G. O'Brien¹ have made an excellent survey of the information available up to the present time. The rapidity with which knowledge on the subject has accumulated may be judged by the fact that only six years have elapsed since the matter was of purely scientific interest, whereas now it has become one of economic importance. New plants for which boron is essential are constantly being discovered, and this year it has been established at Rothamsted that carrots should be added to the list. According to Bertrand and de Waal², carrot contained 25 mgm. boron per kgm. dry matter compared with 2·3–5 mgm. in cereals and 75·6 mgm. in beet, all plants being grown in the same soil. This relatively low boron content of carrot possibly indicates that its need for the element is not great, and that in consequence, disease due to its deficiency is not likely to be widespread.