RATES OF BORON RECOVERED BY DIFFERENT EXTRACTANTS FROM SOILS OF BAHIA AND MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL, WITH AND WITHOUT LIMING

Information on rates of nutrient recovery by extractants as a function of added doses of the nutrients is scarce, yet necessary for fertilization and liming recommendation systems. The aim of this study was to determine boron recovery rates by boiling water and boiling CaCl2, with and without liming, in soils of the States of Bahia and Minas Gerais, Brazil. We set up three experiments under greenhouse conditions using a (6 x 2 + 9) x 6 factorial arrangement, consisting of six soils with and without liming, nine soils without liming, and six application rates of B. A randomized block design was used, with three replicates. Experimental units consisted of 0.6 dm(3) of soil. We calculated the liming rate based on soil analysis, following the recommendation for the State of Minas Gerais. After 15 days of incubation, the soils received different application rates of B (0, 1.5, 3, 6, 9, and 15 mg dm(-3)); they then underwent an additional 45-day incubation period. Boric acid (H3BO3) was the B source. After incubation, available B contents were extracted by boiling water and boiling 5 mmol L-1 CaCl2. Azomethine-H reagent was used for B detection. Regression and correlation analyses for the variables were carried out. The B extracted from the soil by boiling water and boiling CaCl2, regardless of liming, increases in a linear manner with the increase in the application rates of this nutrient in the soils. The boiling water and boiling CaCl2 extractants proved not to be sensitive to liming. Rather, the rates of B recovered from the soils by the extractants used vary according to organic matter content, clay quantity and quality, and the moisture equivalent. The extractants used had high correlation in extraction of B from the soil.