Use of boron in conifer and hardwood nurseries

David B. South
David B. South

Published: 01.12.2020.

Volume 0, Issue 12 (2021)

pp. 56-93;

https://doi.org/10.21750/refor.12.06.98

Abstract

Nursery seedlings with visual boron (B) deficiencies are rare, especially for broadleaf species but they may have occurred in conifer nurseries in Florida, Oregon and the UK. Factors favoring a deficiency include high soil pH, high soil calcium and low soil moisture (i.e. withholding irrigation). Symptoms of a boron deficiency in pine include dead terminals, resin exudation from buds, dark green foliage, and terminal needles with less than 3 μg g-1 B. Chlorosis is an iron deficiency symptom but is not a boron deficiency symptom. At some nurseries (with more than 2% organic matter and more than 0.05 μg g-1 B in irrigation water), seedlings do not have a hidden hunger for B. As a result, there are no published trials that demonstrate a positive growth response from adding boron to managed nursery soils (when seedbed density is not reduced by boron). This review highlights some of the past and current uses of B in nurseries with a focus on deficiency and toxicity effects.

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