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<pre>Mike wrote

I was probably one of the Hunter Valley group looking at Boron deficiency.
It was well known in the local vineyards that the local soils are boron
deficient, and we have found the same sort of thing with olives. Boron is
deficient below 19 ppm and excessive / toxic over about 185ppm (from
memory - please check these figures) so there is a fairly wide range, but
I've never heard of borax toxicity in Australia. I normally aim for around
40 - 60 ppm from a leaf test. Beware the residual boron traces after a
foliar spray, as this will seriously distort the figures. It can take a full
year for all the spray to be absorbed or wash off (especially with our lack
of rainfall).

Don't forget that there is a lot of Boron (25-50ppm) in the olive waste
after processing and that this has to be replaced before the next season.

Best regards
Peter Caird
www.victorianolivegroves.com
0418 392 157
61 3 5441 5388



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