Abstract
The effect of boron (B) supply on pollen viability was studied using Hass avocado trees (Persea americana) grown in a glasshouse pot experiment with B-deficient soil. Seven rates of B were applied to the soil 12 months prior to anthesis. The number of pollen grains germinating in an artificial minus-B pollen growth medium increased approximately 16-fold when B equivalent to 0.8 or 1.6 g m-2 was applied to the soil.
In a field experiment with 5-year old Hass avocado trees of marginal B status (15–29 mg B kg-1 dry wt of summer flush leaves), spraying Solubor® onto fully developed panicles at the beginning of anthesis caused a 42% increase in fruit set, but this was not accompanied by a significant increase (p=0.05) in the number of fruit retained following the first fruit drop. Spraying panicles at earlier stages of development had no detectable effect on either fruit set or fruit retention.
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© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Smith, T.E., Stephenson, R.A., Asher, C.J., Hetherington, S.E. (1997). Boron deficiency of avocado. 1. Effects on pollen viability and fruit set. In: Bell, R.W., Rerkasem, B. (eds) Boron in Soils and Plants. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 76. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5564-9_25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5564-9_25
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