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Boron a difficult but important micro-nutrient to manage

An agronomist says there’s a fine line between plant health and crop injury when managing the micronutrient boron.

Ross Bender with the Mosaic Company says growers ask him about inducing injury to crops through inaccurate or poor management of boron.

“That’s absolutely true.  You can hurt the crop if you don’t manage boron well.  In fact, there’s a very small window or range between deficiency and toxicity.”

He tells Brownfield it’s how the boron is distributed that can lead to failure or success.

“Managing boron is tough.  Every plant needs a little bit, not a lot.”

The Mosaic Company has developed a new product called Aspire that Bender calls a potash source fortified with boron.

“Every single potash granule has a little bit of boron in there.  So that helps resolve issues or past concerns about toxicity.”

Bender says Aspire possesses both fast and slow boron release sources for season-long availability.

“This helps you ensure every plant gets access to just a little bit (of boron), which is exactly what that plant needs.”