﻿2 BULLETIN 1126, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



carried on with potatoes, a decreased yield resulted in some cases 

 where the potash was applied in quantities which would give 7.5 

 pounds of borax per acre, while in other experiments as much as 18 

 pounds was required to show injury. In some of the experiments 

 with cotton a reduction in' yield resulted where as little as 4 pounds 

 of borax per acre were used, while on other soils no decreased yield 

 resulted with the use of less than 12 pounds. 



That the injiuy caused by the Searles Lake potash was due to the 

 borax it contained has been further demonstrated by experiments 

 made in 1920. In these tests the effect of Searles Lake potash free 

 from borax gave good results and compared very favorably with 

 potash materials from other sources. 



Owing to the great interest taken in the subject and its bearing on 

 crop production it was felt essential to conduct further field studies 

 in order to obtain detailed evidence on the effect of borax upon 

 different crops with respect to growth as well as yield. 



This bulletin embodies the results of these field studies conducted 

 cooperatively in the States of Maine, New Jersey, Virginia, and 

 Alabama on several important types of soil. 



REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. 



The injurious effects of borax in corn fertilizers were noted in 

 Indiana in 1917 by Conner, which seem to be the first recorded field 

 observations on the effect of borax and its occurrence in fertilizer 

 practice. Conner (3) reached the conclusion from his experiments 

 in pots that 100 pounds per acre of a fertilizer containing 2 per cent 

 of borax when applied in the furrow caused injury to the corn plant. 

 Work previous to this by Lipman (8) was confined to pot tests, and 

 the work of Cook (5, 6, 7) was chiefly concerned with the action of 

 borax in manure and is not directly applicable to present-day com- 

 mercial-fertilizer practice; neither are the experiments of a number 

 of European workers which are reviewed in Cook's paper. 



Conner's more recent report (4) , giving the results of his work with 

 borax on corn in two field experiments, confirms the data obtained 

 from the pot tests. He found that borax caused the greatest injury 

 when the fertilizer in which it was contained was applied in the row. 

 From 0.5 of a pound up to 4 pounds of anhydrous borax per acre 

 produced injury when drilled in the row, and 16 to 18 pounds were 

 required to produce injury when the fertilizer was sown broadcast 

 and worked into the surface soil. Conner also found that borax 

 injury varies with the method of application, type of soil, seasonal 

 conditions, and the crop grown. 



In field experiments reported by Blackwell and Collings (1), desig- 

 nated a progress report, applications of a potash salt containing 17.75 

 per cent borax (Na 2 B 4 7 ), used in quantities varying from 25 to 1, 000 

 pounds per acre, did not prevent germination of cotton and corn seed 

 under the conditions of the experiment or hinder the normal growth of 

 the ) r oung plants. Their experiments were discontinued when the 

 young plants were 18 inches in height. Nor did applications of com- 

 mercial borax ranging from 54 to 400 pounds per acre prevent germi- 

 nation and normal growth of either cotton or corn. The planting was 

 followed immediately by heavy rains, which it is stated may account 

 in a large measure for tne failure of these quantities of borax to show 



