Content
Boric acid for grapes is necessary to stimulate the growth of ovaries, attract pollinators, as well as for the treatment and prevention of certain fungal diseases. Treatment is carried out several times per season. Not only the acid powder itself is added to the solution, but also other useful components - both mineral and organic, for example, potassium humate or Kemira Lux.
Why treat grapes with boric acid?
Boron is one of the most important microelements needed by all plants, especially at the flowering and fruiting stages. It is this that ensures the normal formation of flowers and ovaries, the formation of buds, and the growth of fruits. Therefore, boron deficiency or its complete absence negatively affects crop yields.
Grapes should be treated with boric acid for several purposes:
- Increase in green mass due to the active synthesis of nitrogenous compounds, which are influenced by boron.
- Preventing the death of young grape seedlings.
- Increased resistance to adverse weather conditions.
- You can also treat grapes with boric acid to increase the ovaries.
- Increased pollination, which also affects productivity (an increase of up to 25% is noted).
- Improving the taste, sugar content, aroma of berries, as well as their size.
- Increased shelf life of fruits due to the fact that the berries crack less, even with excessive moisture.
- Boric acid is involved in the prevention of fungal infections, including Phoma, and also effectively protects against the appearance of pests (aphids, ants and others).
The main source of boron for grapes is boric acid.
Symptoms of boron deficiency or excess
A deficiency of this element in grapes is observed quite often. Boron deficiency can be determined by the following signs:
- the leaves bend, shaped like a dome;
- the surface of the foliage has a mosaic color;
- the top of the grape vine dies around mid-July;
- flowering is poor, setting is insignificant;
- grape shoots are too close to each other;
- branches develop at a slow pace;
- peas of berries (a large number of small fruits about the size of a pea);
- the pulp becomes brown;
- brown thickenings on the antennae;
- if you dig under the bush, you can see that the rhizomes are rotting.
Each element must enter the plant tissue in optimal quantities. Practice shows that an excess of a substance is no less destructive than its deficiency. Therefore, it is important to learn how to determine if boron is exceeded. The main features are as follows:
- the leaves do not acquire a dome-shaped, but rather a cup-shaped shape;
- Small brown spots appear on the old lower leaf blades. Gradually they increase in size and lead to death.
How to prepare the solution
When preparing a solution of boric acid for grapes, it is important to observe the proportions. The classic version is a composition with a concentration of 0.25%. It's easy to prepare. You need to act this way:
- Take 2.5 g of boric acid powder. Usually pharmacies sell 10 g bags, so you can visually mark a quarter or measure it on a scale.
- Pour one glass of hot, but not boiling water. You can pour the liquid at room temperature, but then it will be more difficult to dissolve boric acid for grapes.
- Stir thoroughly.
- Bring the total volume to 1 liter (you can take water of any temperature).
- If necessary, allow to cool slightly, pour into a spray bottle and begin processing the grapes.
To prepare a solution with a volume of 10 liters (standard bucket), take 25 g of boric acid, i.e. 2.5 sachets weighing 10 g each. This is approximately equivalent to a small heaped tablespoon.
For treatment, it is necessary to prepare a solution with a concentration of 0.25%
The use of boric acid for grapes
Boric acid is used for various purposes, for example, for good tying or prevention. The amount of product, the composition of the fertilizer (can be used with other fertilizers) and the processing time depend on this.
To enlarge ovaries
Very often, gardeners spray grapes with boric acid to increase the ovaries.This is an effective measure that helps not only maintain productivity at a normal level, but also increase the rate. To ensure a guaranteed result, the treatment is carried out in three stages:
- A week before flowering begins.
- During the period when the maximum number of inflorescences bloom.
- At the stage of ovary formation.
To improve pollination
Pollination is carried out by insects, which can be attracted by sucrose, i.e. regular sugar. To do this, you need to prepare a fairly concentrated solution with a strength of 10%, i.e. add 100 g of sugar per 1 liter or 1 kg of sugar per 10 liters of water. The proportions of boric acid for processing grapes do not change - the concentration is 0.25%. Treatment is carried out at all stages of flowering, and you can start with the first buds opening.
For disease prevention
The acid plays the role of a fungicide, so it can be used to carry out preventive treatments against fungal infections. Usually the procedure is carried out in the spring before flowering begins, i.e. from April to May. The solution can also be used to treat bushes in the initial stages of mildew (downy mildew), oidium and other pathologies. To do the correct processing, you need to act like this:
- Dissolve 1 tablespoon of acid powder in 1 liter of hot water.
- Mix thoroughly and pour 10 liters into a bucket.
- Add a few grains of potassium permanganate. As a result, the water should turn light pink, not very rich in color.
- Then add 40 drops of an alcohol solution of iodine (also available at a pharmacy) for the same volume.
- Mix again. Allow to cool if necessary.
- Pour into a spray bottle and begin processing.
Spraying with boric acid allows you to harvest a good harvest in different regions
Treatment of grapes with boric acid before and during flowering
Treatments before flowering and after flowering are especially important as they affect yield. To make the procedure as effective as possible, it is recommended to add not only acid powder to the solution, but also other components. There are three composition options for this.
In the first case, the working solution is prepared from the following components (per 10 l):
- boric acid – 20 g;
- sugar – 60 g;
- urea – 25 g;
- potassium humate – 40 ml;
- fertilizer “Kemira Lux” – 20 g;
- citric acid – 30 g;
- iron sulfate – 10 g;
- stimulant “Novosil” – 60 drops.
The second composition for processing grapes is represented by the following components (per 10 l):
- boric acid – 10 g;
- citric acid – 10 g;
- urea – 35 g;
- iron sulfate – 15 g.
There is a third option (for 10 l):
- boric acid – 10 g;
- potassium sulfate – 60 g;
- ammonium sulfate – 90 g;
- zinc sulfate – 10 g;
- cobalt sulfate – 0.5 g;
- manganese sulfate – 15 g;
- superphosphate – 150 g;
- ammonium molybdate – 7 g.
How to treat grapes with boric acid during ripening
At the ripening stage, spraying of grapes with boric acid is also carried out using complex formulations. First preparation option (for 10 l):
- boric acid – 20 g;
- pharmaceutical alcohol iodine – 3.5 g;
- fertilizer “Kemira Lux” – 20 g;
- fertilizer “Tiovit Jet” – 20 g;
- potassium humate – 60 ml;
- sugar – 60 g;
- stimulant “Novosil” – 90 drops;
- baking soda – 75 g.
Second composition (per 10 l):
- boric acid – 10 g;
- zinc sulfate – 15 g;
- magnesium sulfate – 15 g;
- iron sulfate – 5 g;
- ammonium molybdate – 15 g.
During ripening, one spray with a nutrient is sufficient.
Common mistakes
Pollinating grapes with boric acid is not so difficult if you follow the proportions, timing and other rules. But in practice, beginners and even experienced gardeners often make mistakes that can negatively affect the development of the plant. The most common inaccuracies are:
- You should not think that the more boron, the better. If the leaves of the plant begin to curl inward, dry out, and peculiar burns appear on the surface, then fertilizing with acid should be stopped immediately.
- During spraying, droplets should be kept to a minimum size. The sprayer should be set to fine mist mode.
- Spraying is carried out evenly according to a single pattern so as not to get confused (for example, move only from top to bottom). It is necessary to cover all the leaves so that there are no missing places.
- Along with foliar feeding, boron can also be given in the traditional way - by watering at the root. In this case, borax is used - the sodium salt of boric acid (sodium tetraborate). To prepare the solution, take 10 g of powder and dissolve it in 10 liters of water. Accordingly, the amount of boric acid during foliar treatment should be reduced.
- You can treat grapes with boric acid in a greenhouse using the same compounds. If the shelter is reliable enough, you can work even during rainy, windy weather. If spraying is carried out in the heat, it is better to do it in the evening.Moreover, the greenhouse needs to be ventilated often by opening the door and windows.
Conclusion
Boric acid is of great importance for grapes. If the element is insufficient, this will inevitably affect the yield, development of the bush, and reduce its resistance to fungal diseases. Therefore, spraying using a powder solution must be carried out regularly. You should also not overuse the product - you must follow the described proportions.
