Grigg Bros. Sili-Kal-B Cancel The title field is required!

1. Spotts David A

   
   3/15/2012 4:03 PM

   I noticed that the analysis for this product contains .5% boron derived from boric acid. I have seen liquid fertilizers like a 25-0-0 with .5% boron but thought the boron would harm bent grass greens. I never looked at the label to see if it was good on greens because of the boron in it. The price was right though so I guess I should have looked further. What does boron do for the plant? I've seen it in micro programs but not at the .5% level, more like .01%. Is this a "hot " product with the potential for tip burn? I am specifically interested in the boron part of the equation because in the 70"s I think it was, I read about a course during drought using effluent water high in boron and they thought it would harm the bent. Don't recall reading a followup as to whether it did.
   Is a liquid fertilizer with .5% boron derived from boric acid a dangerous product for greens?

   
   
   
   
2. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   3/15/2012 11:03 PM

   David,
   
   I can't answer your questions about the Boron, but I can tell you I spray Sili-Kal-B here in the transition zone, don't water until the next morning or later, all season long and have never had a problem. It has worked great for me, also used it up in northern Indiana with great success as well.
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
3. Dalton Andrew

   
   3/17/2012 3:03 PM

   From what I remember, Boron aids in the formation and control of hormones, helps with the translocation and balance of calcium, starches and other sugars. Aids in the translocation of growth regulators, and is essential for cell division. Boron has many more functions, especially in woody plant but I think these are the most important aspects for turfgrass. I used to use a lot of Miller's Microplex on fairways and greens years ago that were mostly bentgrass and I had no issues and that was .5% Boron, a lot of the micro nutient products I use now on poa/bent greens contain much less like .05 or .02 and many are derived from Boric Acid! Try it at a lighter rate and increase as you go. "You can always add more, you can never take it away"!
   
   Andy

   
   
   
   
4. David Finney

   

   0 posts
   
   3/19/2012 10:03 AM

   David... Turfgrass is generally tolerant of Boron, in small amounts. In soil testing, Boron is known as the "gatekeeper" for Calcium uptake --> 1.2ppm of B is a good place to be. In paste testing, your Boron levels should be about 0.1 ppm. The sufficiency range for B in tissue testing is between 8-20ppm for bent grass. Boron is a very soluble element in the soil, not quite as mobile in the plant. If you're worried about Boron, monitor these levels (especially in the plant tissue) to track it.
   
   Silicon on the other hand is a cool element to introduce into the mix... lots of plant defense mechanisms are enhanced with silicon.
   
   DLFinney

   
   
   
   
5. Baker Daniel

   
   3/19/2012 11:03 AM

   When is the last time you went out to your greens and thought, "HMMM, looks like a Boron deficiency." Remove Boron and insert Molybedenmumummmummm or Zinc. I spray a micro package in my foliar program becasue the soil avaliability on most of them is miniscule depending on pH.
   
   When it come to other micros like Iron, Mg, Mn and Calcium. Those are a different animal.

   
   
   
   
6. Spotts David A

   
   3/19/2012 2:03 PM

   I was looking at a product for which the label was lost except for the NPK ratio and .5% boron. Since I had no label, I thought the boron level was high to be spraying on greens.