The optimization of table beet cultivation by using a boron-containing chelate

Abstract

In the field experiment, the possibility of optimizing the cultivation of table beet Beta vulgaris L. using a borate complex based on ethylenediamine disuccinic acid (B-EDDS) was investigated. Before sowing, beet seeds were soaked for a day in a solution of this compound, as well as in solutions of boric acid and a borate complex based on ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (B-EDTA), taken for comparison, with a concentration of solutes of 1.5·10-3 mol/L. During the growing season, the plants were sprayed twice with experimental solutions at a rate of 100 ml/m2. In the first decade of August, the content of photosynthetic pigments in plant leaves and microbial carbon in the soil was determined, after harvesting, sugars and betanin in root crops were determined by spectrophotometric methods. The boron content in beet root crops was analyzed by the fluorometric method. According to the results of the two-year experiment, all three boron-containing compounds, to varying degrees, had a positive effect on the experimental plant. In decreasing efficiency, they can be arranged in a row: B-EDDS > H3BO3> B-EDTA. Treatment with the solution of borate-ethylenediamine disuccinate complex increased the boron content in root crops by 65% in comparison with treatment with boric acid. In comparison with the control variant, the sugar content in root crops increased by 37%, the content of betanin increased by 25% and the yield of root crops increased by 39%. At the same time, the mass of microbial carbon in the soil increased by 20%, which serves as one of the arguments confirming the ecological safety of the compound under study. Judging by the results of the experiment, borate-ethylenediamine disuccinate has good prospects for use as boron micronutrient fertilizer.