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Boron Requirements of Plants

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Boron in Plant and Animal Nutrition

Abstract

The present paper, which is intended to update the review by Bell (1997), identifies significant advances in knowledge and understanding about boron (B) requirements of plants, and their implications for crop management and further research. Since 1997 a number of advances have been made in quantifying the B requirements of plants. Significant among these was the development of a B-buffered solution culture system that maintains solution B concentrations at levels typical of soil solutions (Asad et al., 1997a,Asad et al., 1997b). Further reports have come forth on critical B concentrations in soils and plants for diagnosis and prognosis of B deficiency. Further evidence has also emerged that the requirement for growing organs greatly exceeds that of mature organs which are in a maintenance growth phase. Some progress has been made in defining the effects of environmental factors on B requirements. Genotypic variation in B requirements continues to be explored, and exciting new work has shown that genetic engineering of tobacco plants to produce sorbitol not only increases B mobility in the phloem but also decreases the external B requirements.

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  1. Division of Science and Engineering, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia

    R. W. Bell, B. Dell & L. Huang

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Heiner E. Goldbach  & Monika A. Wimmer  & 

  2. University of California, Davis, California, USA

    Patrick H. Brown  & Monika A. Wimmer  & 

  3. Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand

    Benjavan Rerkasem

  4. University of Rouen, Rouen, France

    Michel Thellier

  5. Murdoch University, Perth, Australia

    Richard W. Bell

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Bell, R.W., Dell, B., Huang, L. (2002). Boron Requirements of Plants. In: Goldbach, H.E., Brown, P.H., Rerkasem, B., Thellier, M., Wimmer, M.A., Bell, R.W. (eds) Boron in Plant and Animal Nutrition. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0607-2_7

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