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A greenhouse study was conducted with alfalfa to determine the relationship between water‐soluble B in the soil and plant uptake as affected by soil texture and pH. Soils used were Norfolk sandy loam, Hartsells fine sandy loam, and Decatur silty clay representing coarse‐, medium‐, and fine‐textured soils. Treatments included five rates of B at three pH levels. Yields and B content of plants were measured. After the plants were harvested, soils were analyzed for water‐soluble B and pH. Results showed that alfalfa grown on the coarse‐textured soil had the highest uptake of B per unit of water‐soluble B in the soil and the plants from the fine‐textured soil had the least. The medium‐textured soil was intermediate. As the acidity decreased from a pH value of 5 to 7, less B was available at any level of water‐soluble B in all three soil types. These results indicate that texture and pH must be considered when water‐soluble B is used as a measure of availability to plants.

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Corn (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers.) plants were grown in a controlled environmental growth chamber in 12 medium‐ to coarse‐textured soils with two levels of Zn for each soil. These levels were the native amount in each soil and with 2.5 ppm added. After 4 weeks plants were harvested and Zn concentration and total Zn uptake were measured. Each soil was extracted with three different solutions: (i) 0.05N HCl plus 0.025N H2SO4, (ii) 0.1N HCl, and (iii) 0.05N EDTA at pH 7.0. Zinc uptake by the plants was correlated with the level of soil Zn determined by each extractant. The highest correlation was obtained for corn and sorghum with extractant (i). Correlation coefficients for corn for extractants (i), (ii), and (iii) were 0.89, 0.82, and 0.62, respectively. Correlation coefficients for sorghum for extractants (i), (ii), and (iii) were 0.70, 0.63, and 0.44, respectively.

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