Premium
A New Soil Test for Quantitative Measurement of Available and Adsorbed Boron
Author(s) -
Goldberg Sabine,
Suarez Donald L.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj2013.09.0404
Subject(s) - soil water , chemistry , leaching (pedology) , boron , adsorption , sorbitol , extraction (chemistry) , environmental chemistry , xylitol , environmental science , soil science , chromatography , organic chemistry , fermentation
Boron soil tests currently in use, do not extract all available B but are used by relating the extractable amount of B to plant B content. There is a need to accurately measure all available or adsorbed B because B can be toxic to plants at elevated concentrations and can cause marked yield decrements. Determination of the adsorbed B pool in the soil is also required for evaluation of the extent of leaching needed when B levels in soil solution are excessive, as well as for modeling studies regarding B transport in soils. Sugar alcohols form strong bonds between their cis ‐diol groups and B and are therefore, ideal for use as extractants for soil B. We evaluated the extraction performance of various sugar alcohols: sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, and varying soil/solution ratios (1–1000 g L −1 ) and reaction times (1–48 h). We selected sorbitol as the extractant, utilizing a soil/solution ratio of 100 g L −1 , and reaction time of 24 h. This soil test was able to provide quantitative recovery of B added to a diverse set of seven soils from California, Iowa, and Oklahoma. Results from the new B soil test can be used to quantify adsorbed B and thus provide needed input to both chemical speciation‐transport models such as UNSATCHEM to obtain accurate predictions of B transport and partitioning in soils, as well as allowing for improved management of waters and soils high in B.