| Abstract: | Summary The current criteria for evaluating the boron (B) hazard of irrigation water for specified crops are based on the concentration of B in the irrigation water without consideration of soil properties or the leaching fraction. Experiments were conducted to determine the influence of B sorption capacity on plant uptake of B at rates of 0.1, 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 ppm B in the irrigation water with a leaching fraction of 0.5. A relatively B sensitive crop, oats (Avena sativa), was grown on four arid-region soils of varying B sorption capacities. The results show that B in solution rather than sorbed B influenced B toxicity. Contribution from the Department of Soils, Water and Engineering, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721. Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station No. 2508. Research Associates and Associate Professor, respectively. The senior author is currently at the Department of Soils and Irrigation, American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon. |
