Fall Foliar-applied Boron Increases Tissue Boron Concentration and Nut Set of Almond
| dc.contributor.author | Nyomora, Agnes M. S. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Brown, Patrick H. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Freeman, Mark | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2016-05-05T14:09:50Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2016-05-05T14:09:50Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 1997 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Fruit set is the major determinant of productivity in almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill D.A. Webb)] where seed is the commercial product. Boron influences flowering and fruit set in a number of crops, but little has been reported on this subject in almond. Here, we investigated the effect of a fall foliar application of B on fruit set and tissue B concentration in open pollinated `Butte' and `Mono' almond over a 2-year period. Early fall B application significantly increased the vegetative, floral, and fruit tissue B concentration in the subsequent year. The greatest increase in organ B concentration was observed in flower buds, flowers, and hulls. Recent work has demonstrated that B forms a B-sorbitol complex in Prunus species. This B-sorbitol complex is phloem mobile and is transported to sink organs. Here we demonstrate that fall-applied B is absorbed by the leaf and is subsequently transported (presumably as the B-sorbitol complex) to floral buds where it is available to flowers and, hence, influences fruit set and yield. It is concluded that fall foliar-applied B is a useful fertilization strategy that can be used to optimize tissue B concentration in species in which B is phloem mobile. Boron applied at 245 and/or 490 ppm significantly increased fruit set in `Butte' and `Mono' and increased yield of `Butte' in 1994 on open-pollinated trees (yield was not determined in 1993). The highest initial and second fruit set was associated with either the 245 or 490 ppm B treatments in both cultivars and both years. This increased fruit set resulted in yield increases of 53% and 4%, respectively, for `Butte' and `Mono'. Of the two cultivars, `Butte', which had lower tissue B concentration before B application, responded more significantly in yield to B application. Application of 735 ppm B was less effective than either 245 and 490 ppm B; however, no visual symptoms of excess B were observed. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Nyomora, A.M., Brown, P.H. and Freeman, M., 1997. Fall foliar-applied boron increases tissue boron concentration and nut set of almond. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 122(3), pp.405-410. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11810/1834 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.subject | Prunus dulcis | en_US |
| dc.subject | Foliar fertilization | en_US |
| dc.subject | Flowering | en_US |
| dc.subject | Pollination | en_US |
| dc.subject | Micronutrients | en_US |
| dc.title | Fall Foliar-applied Boron Increases Tissue Boron Concentration and Nut Set of Almond | en_US |
| dc.type | Journal Article, Peer Reviewed | en_US |