Correcting Lowbush Blueberry Boron Deficiency with Soil or Foliar Application

Abstract

In the acid podzol soils of Maine where most lowbush blueberries are grown, low availability of boron tends to keep foliar B concentration below the 24 ppm standard. To compare efficacy of soil and foliar boron application methods, 1.5 × 7.6-m treatment plots in a commer-cial lowbush blueberry field received soil-applied borate at 0, 1.1, 2.2, or 3.3 kg·ha-1 B with or without additional DAP (89 kg·ha-1 P) and ZnSO4 (3.3 kg·ha-1 Zn) or foliar-applied Solubor at 0, 0.24, 0.49, or 0.74 kg·ha-1 B with or without the additional DAP and Zn. These 16 treatments were replicated eight times in a randomized complete-block design. Leaf B concentrations were raised by all soil-applied borate treatments and by the 0.49 and 0.74 kg·ha-1 B foliar Solubor treatments, compared to the controls. When borate at 2.2 or 3.3 kg·ha-1 B was combined with DAP plus Zn a lower leaf B concentration was observed compared to B alone, possibly due to a dilution effect caused by an increase in DAP-induced growth. Leaf P deficiency (<0.125% P) was corrected when DAP and Zn were included in the fertilizer treatment. The greatest potential yield (flower buds/stem and flower bud density) was measured in treatment plots receiving a combination of DAP plus Zn and either borate at 2.2 kg·ha-1 B or Solubor at 0.74 kg·ha-1 B. With no additional treatments applied in 1999, leaf B concentrations were slightly higher in soil-treated and foliar-treated plots than in controls suggesting a small carryover from 1997-applied boron. Carryover may vary with rainfall.