Beet boron alert issued

The continuing dry conditions may be placing beet and other crops at risk of mineral or trace element deficiency, growers have been warned. Despite best efforts to ensure that nutrient levels in the soil are correct, the protracted dry spell means that growing plants may be unable to access minerals vital for healthy plant development, piling yet more pressure on crops struggling to reach full yield potential.

"Plant roots need moisture in order to access these crucial elements," explains Paul Haynes, technical manager for Barclay Crop Protection. "So although earlier soil tests might have satisfied expectations for mineral and nutrient levels, crops may in fact be suffering from as yet undetected deficiencies."

Mr Haynes is particularly concerned about beet and boron, as most available boron usually occurs in the uppermost soil layer, currently almost completely dried out in many fields.

"The crop’s also one of the most boron‐intensive in modern agriculture," he says. "An average crop in the UK, yielding between 60 and 70t/ha, will need to take in 600g of elemental boron per hectare.

"Much of that is removed at harvest," he points out, "and if there’s been rape in the rotation recently, then you could reasonably expect to have a boron deficiency in any case ‐ it too is boronhungry, needing more than 300g of boron per hectare."

In beet, the element’s essential for the development of healthy plants, specifically the formation of good roots and sugar synthesis within them. Poor availability of boron can lead to serious yield loss and quality problems, Mr Haynes points out.

"Current conditions will mask usual symptoms such as a slow growth rate and in beet, deficiency usually only becomes evident once root development is well under way, by which time any remedy becomes more of a fire‐fighting exercise and yield has already been compromised. Plant tissue analysis is the only sure‐fire way to check boron levels and availability.

"However, foliar‐applied products, such as Solubor DF, are definitely worth consideration. Boron has strong antifungal properties and studies show that boron‐treated beet are less susceptible to sclerotinia infection.

"Solubor DF is an easy‐to‐handle, solvent‐free formulation, offering growers a fully traceable product for crop assurance purposes, and can be applied throughout the development of the crop.

"It’s also registered by the Soil Association for use in organic crops," he adds.