BORON NUTRITION OF PEANUT GROWN IN BORON-DEFICIENT CALCAREOUS SOILS: GENOTYPIC VARIATION AND PROPOSED DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA

Abstract

Field studies were conducted to assess boron (B) requirement, critical concentrations in diagnostic parts based on yield response curves and genotypic variation by growing three peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars (‘Golden’, ‘BARD-479’, ‘BARI-2000’) on two B-deficient calcareous soils. Boron application significantly increased pod yield of all the cultivars over control. Maximum pod yield increases were: ‘Golden’, 16−23%; ‘BARD-479’, 21−27%; and ‘BARI-2000’, 25−31%. The cultivars varied in B efficiency and cv. ‘Golden’ was the most B efficient (81−86%) while cv. ‘BARI-2000’ was the least efficient (76−80%). Boron requirements for near-maximum (95%) dry pod yield were 0.65 kg ha−1 for ‘Golden’, 0.75 kg ha−1 for BARD-479 and 0.80 kg ha−1 for BARI-2000. Critical B concentrations in shoots and seeds were: ‘Golden’, 33 mg kg−1 and 26 mg kg−1; ‘BARD-479’, 38 mg kg−1 and 31 mg kg−1; and ‘BARI-2000’, 42 mg kg−1 and 33 mg kg−1.