I’m gonna try 4 oz of solubor per gallon under-vine to burn young weeds and satisfy my boron requirements. John Kempf wrote about this technique a while back….
I used washing borax (10% boron) on ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) in lawn; that was constantly invading perennial beds. It was not very effective, if at all, some leaf burn; but leaves were so waxy as to prevent much wetting. This was 30 years ago and at the time did not know if it needed to be absorbed or just foliar contact, or root absorbed. I just assumed that it was a very boron intolerant plant and thus boron could be a selective herbicide. At this point I am encouraging it as a living mulch under fruit trees.
As for using it for its insecticidal properties: apply mixed with a calcium source as it is the antidote to too much, and allows for dispersing it better if not solubilized and sprayed on soil. Finally got clarification from John Kempf as to max amount in soil. It is 3ppm B for each 1000ppm available Ca ( double for #/acre as a 6 inch test depth layer of topsoil is considered to be 2 million pounds/acre). You can apply approx 2# per year east of Mississippi river as rainfall is constantly washing it out. What the soil test shows is what is available for the plant to take up, it does not need to be in a chemically reduced form to be plant available like many other micro nutrients. The soil applied granular form becomes plant available in approx 60 days.
I am seeing good reduction in plum curculio and chestnut weevil with continued foliar applications of ReBound boron from AdvancingEcoAg.com. It may also be part of the reason why I am no longer catching OFM and CM in my pheromone traps. Third year with one or 2 moths for the whole season.
Great info Dan. Particularly interesting you’ve had reductions using boron on curculio because it tends to ruin my stone fruits and organic controls don’t seem to do the job in my area of the Ozarks
I loved reading this- the humour, the logic, the optimism- all just what I needed.
I’m gonna try 4 oz of solubor per gallon under-vine to burn young weeds and satisfy my boron requirements. John Kempf wrote about this technique a while back….
I used washing borax (10% boron) on ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) in lawn; that was constantly invading perennial beds. It was not very effective, if at all, some leaf burn; but leaves were so waxy as to prevent much wetting. This was 30 years ago and at the time did not know if it needed to be absorbed or just foliar contact, or root absorbed. I just assumed that it was a very boron intolerant plant and thus boron could be a selective herbicide. At this point I am encouraging it as a living mulch under fruit trees.
As for using it for its insecticidal properties: apply mixed with a calcium source as it is the antidote to too much, and allows for dispersing it better if not solubilized and sprayed on soil. Finally got clarification from John Kempf as to max amount in soil. It is 3ppm B for each 1000ppm available Ca ( double for #/acre as a 6 inch test depth layer of topsoil is considered to be 2 million pounds/acre). You can apply approx 2# per year east of Mississippi river as rainfall is constantly washing it out. What the soil test shows is what is available for the plant to take up, it does not need to be in a chemically reduced form to be plant available like many other micro nutrients. The soil applied granular form becomes plant available in approx 60 days.
I am seeing good reduction in plum curculio and chestnut weevil with continued foliar applications of ReBound boron from AdvancingEcoAg.com. It may also be part of the reason why I am no longer catching OFM and CM in my pheromone traps. Third year with one or 2 moths for the whole season.
Great info Dan. Particularly interesting you’ve had reductions using boron on curculio because it tends to ruin my stone fruits and organic controls don’t seem to do the job in my area of the Ozarks