Wheat sterility in Bangladesh: An overview of the problem, research and possible solutions

Years of observations of sterility in Bangladesh growers' wheat fields and intensive research have shown that the causes of sterility are many-factored. Low soil boron concentrations had been hypothesised to be the major cause, but data did not support this assumption. probable causes include low light caused by foggy weather, low temperatures over many days during wheat flowering, and saturated or waterlogged soil. These factors affect transpiration, which in turn affects the uptake of boron from the soil during the critical preflowering or flowering period. Research results are summarised. New or unproven hypotheses are formulated.