Cotton yield and boron dynamics affected by cover crops and boron fertilization in a tropical sandy soil

Improving cotton yield and fiber quality in different tropical soils with boron fertilization

“…In Brazil, 60% of Cerrado soils are estimated to be deficient in B, and studies conducted in the 1960s reported increases in cotton yield between 80% and 90% with B applications, as cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.) is one of the most sensitive crops to B deficiency (Lopes & Guilherme, 2016). Recently, soil fertilization with 1 kg ha −1 of B via BA has been reported to increase cotton yield by 18% when grown in Brazilian sandy soils (Cordeiro, Cordeiro, et al., 2022), therefore giving an indication that it is still a limiting nutrient for cotton yield in tropical climates.…”

“…Moreover, proper B supply improves hormonal synthesis, photosynthetic rate, vegetative growth, water‐use efficiency, aluminum toxicity tolerance, yield components, cotton fiber quality, and yield (Bogiani et al., 2013; Cordeiro, Cordeiro et al., 2022; Li et al., 2017; Pereira et al., 2021; Souza Junior et al., 2022). The sufficiency range of B in cotton leaves reported for the Brazilian Cerrado is between 40 and 80 mg kg −1 (Borin et al., 2014), but it is not yet known whether it can change depending on soil texture and organic matter content, as it controls B availability in the soil solution (Schmidt et al., 2021; Yermiyahu et al., 2001).…”

“…High‐yielding cotton crops uptake between 300 and 400 g ha −1 of B (Pabuayon et al., 2021; Vieira et al., 2018). While the official recommendation for B in cotton is 2 kg ha −1 in situations of low soil B content (Sousa & Lobato, 2004), yield increases have been reported with application rates between 1 and 4 kg ha −1 using soluble B sources (Cordeiro, Cordeiro et al., 2022; Saleem et al., 2016). However, the appropriate B rate for cotton may depend on the source used.…”

“…Additionally, a combination of sources that are highly soluble and slowly released has been reported to reduce leaching losses and improve B uptake by crops (Silva et al., 2018). It has also been found that relying solely on soluble sources is not effective in providing sufficient B to cotton crops until the end of the growth cycle (Cordeiro, Cordeiro et al., 2022).…”

“…Furthermore, high‐solubility B sources also have the highest risk of toxicity to plants (Abat et al., 2015), which is greater in sandy soils due to their low organic matter contents (Cordeiro, Cordeiro et al., 2022). This is because B uptake by plants is coordinated by its content in the soil solution and not its total amount in the soil (Schmidt et al., 2021).…”