Effects of Changes in Boron Nutrition on Growth and Development of Subterranean Clover

Abstract

In the early stages, boron deficiency had little effect on dry matter accumula-tion by the plant as a whole. Root growth, however, declined significantly and this was accompanied by an accumulation of dry matter in the leaves. At progressive stages of boron deficiency distribution of dry matter to new leaf tissue also became restricted. When plants already deficient in boron were transferred to solutions without boron, increases in dry weight of existing leaves were greater than for the corresponding plants transferred to complete solutions. However, the dry weight of leaves formed after the transfer increased at a much slower rate in the no-boron than in the complete solutions_