Evaluation of levels and methods of boron application in tomato

Abstract

An experiment was carried out on a clay-loam dark-red distrophic (Haplustox) latosol "fase cerrado" at the EMBRAPA's Crop Experiment Station in Brasília, to evaluate levels and methods of boron application on the production of the tomato cv. Kada. The treatments were arranged in a 3 x 2 factorial in a randomized block design with six replications. Boron was applied: a. To the soil at planting, at the rates of 0, 20 and 40 kg/ha mixed to fertilizers; b. As a foliar treatment every seven days from a solution of a 0.25% borax. Data taken from the experiments were: total production, commercial production, percentage of fruits with blossom-end rot and percentage of grade A fruits. Foliar application of boron had no effect on the incidence of boron deficiency and consequently did not change the analysed parameters. On the other hand, soil applications of boron up to 40 kg of borax per hectare increased tomato yields and significantly decreased the incidence of blossom-end rot and increased the percentage of grade A tomatoes. Therefore, it is concluded that the application of up to 40 kg of borax per hectare is higly recommended for tomato production in the "cerrado area".