Productivity limiting impacts of boron deficiency, a review

• Main Authors: Benjavan Rerkasem, Sansanee Jamjod, Tonapha Pusadee
• Format: Journal
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Agricultural and Biological Sciences
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85089492681&origin=inward; http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/69949
• Institution: Chiang Mai University

© 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Background: In the almost century since the establishment of boron (B) as an essential plant nutrient, its roles in plant growth and development have been identified, and the mechanism for B transportation explained. Scope: This review relates the yield response of crops, measured as B efficiency i.e. productivity when B is limiting relative to when it is not, to the B supply logistics and requirement of different tissues and organs. Conclusions: Yield is depressed by B deficiency in graminaceous cereals primarily by impaired development and function of the stamen and pistil, but in dicots the adverse effects are expressed as structural damage to various organs. Boron-efficient cereal genotypes are readily identifiable by their successful grain set under limited B, while the quantitative trait loci associated with B efficiency provide a useful selection tool for dicots. The relevance to breeding for B efficiency of the numerous BOR1 and NIP genes controlling active B transport identified in many crops will depend on how close their up-regulation in a deficiency is associated with B efficiency. Understanding of the yield impact of B deficiency is useful in dealing with crop choice and the management of germplasm and B fertilizer.