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



or diffuse into the soil mass, thereby enabling plants to Aviths and 

 greater applications of it than in other sections where less rainfall 

 had occurred and where only light applications were necessary to 

 produce injury. 



The way in which the fertilizer was applied exerted considerable 

 influence, and in practically every case the fertilizer-borax mixtures 

 drilled in the furrow, followed by immediate planting, produced much 

 worse injury and with lower concentrations than by applying the 

 fertilizer-borax mixtures some time before planting or by broadcasting 

 and planting immediately. 



The effect of borax on the germination and yield of Lima beans at 

 Arlington, Va., was most noticed where the fertilizer-borax mixtures 

 were applied in the furroAv and planting done at once. Less than 

 50 per cent germinated with an application of 10 pounds of borax 

 per acre, and with even less quantities the effect was marked. The 

 10-pound application of borax caused marked depression in the final 

 yield of both vines and beans. In the section where the mixtures 

 were sown broadcast, it required 20 pounds to produce injury, while 

 in the section where the fertilizer-borax mixtures were applied in 

 the drill some time before planting, 20 pounds also were required to 

 produce injury. 



The effect of borax on snap beans at Arlington, Va., was quite 

 marked, injury being noticeable with small quantities of borax, and 

 the yield was curtailed with an application of 5 pounds of borax per 

 acre, and with quantities below 5 pounds the vines showed a color 

 lighter than the no-borax plats. 



The effect of borax on potatoes at Arlington, Va., when used in 

 quantities less than 5 pounds per acre was one of stimulation. Where 

 the borax application immediately preceded planting, 20 pounds of 

 borax produced injury and a depression in yield. With the other 

 methods of applying the borax mixtures the potato withstood greater 

 concentration of borax. 



Corn displayed a marked reaction to borax. In the case of 

 immediate planting, where the fertilizer was drilled in the furrow, 

 only 2 or 3 pounds of borax were required to produce lighter colored 

 plants, and with 5 pounds marked discoloration ensued. When the 

 fertilizer was sown broadcast no discoloration took place until 10 

 pounds or more of borax per acre had been applied. 



Four pounds of borax in the drill depressed the yield of both 

 stover and corn. When sown broadcast, 20 pounds were required 

 to depress the yield. Practically no plant growth took place where 

 the application exceeded 50 pounds of borax per acre. 



The effect of borax on cotton in experiments conducted at Arling- 

 ton, Va., and Muscle Shoals, Ala., was to severely injure the plants 

 with 20 pounds of borax per acre and to slightly injure the plants 

 with 10 pounds per acre. With high rainfall the degree of injury 

 was slight, and with low rainfall the injury was more severe. 



In experimental work in Virginia, New Jersey, and Maine the 

 effect of borax was more marked on sandy soils than on the heavier 

 soil types, and the effect of the borax was modified by rainfall. 



Experimental work conducted at New Brunswick, N. J., with 

 corn and potatoes on Sassafras loam showed strikingly the influence 

 of rainfall, for it required comparatively high initial applications of 

 borax to produce the degree of injury noted elsewhere. 



