Summary
Tolerance of boron among varieties of wheat and barley was studied in field trials on high-boron and normal soils in South Australia. Grain yield differed significantly between varieties, as did boron concentration in tops, and in grain at maturity. The relative order of yields of barley and wheat varieties varied between the sites of different soil boron status.
In wheat, both specific tolerance (relatively high yield despite accumulation of high concentrations of boron in tissues) and resistance (good yield with below-average tissue concentrations of boron) were identified in individual varieties.
Identification was made of groups of wheat varieties with common ancestries which showed tolerance or sensitivity to boron, respectively. These groups had significantly different yields and concentrations of boron in grain. Pedigree did not guarantee tolerance however, since borontolerant and sensitive varieties of wheat were identified as derivatives of a single parental cross.
The wide variation of nutrient absorption among varieties produced no general statistical relationship between yield and concentrations of boron, or associated elements such as calcium or sodium. Yield was not related to vigour of vegetative growth in the high-boron soil.
The results call into question the general applicability of ‘critical’ boron concentrations as indicators of toxicity status for genotypes of wheat and barley.
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© 1987 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/Lancaster
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Cartwright, B., Rathjen, A.J., Sparrow, D.H.B., Paull, J.G., Zarcinas, B.A. (1987). Boron tolerance in Australian varieties of wheat and barley. In: Gabelman, W.H., Loughman, B.C. (eds) Genetic Aspects of Plant Mineral Nutrition. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 27. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3581-5_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3581-5_12
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