Determination of low boron concentrations in nutrient solution

To study boron (B) deficiency and toxicity in plants in flowing solution culture, it is necessary to establish a wide range of solution B concentrations. The ability of inductively coupled plasma atomic emisson spectrophotometry (ICPAES) to determine solution B concentrations ranging from 0.15 M to 925 M was investigated. The reliablity of B concentration determination in nutrient solutions containing <10 M B is poor. A technique, involving sorption by a B-specific resin (Amberlite-743), was established to concentrate the B present in low B nutrient solutions and to enable reliable measurement using ICPAES following elution from the resin. Acceptable, reproducible recoveries of B from low B solutions, containing known concentrations of B, were obtained using this technique. The technique enables the imposition, monitoring and maintenance of solution B concentrations well below the direct detection limits of ICPAES and colorimetric procedures. ei]L V Kochian