Field and greenhouse studies were conducted in Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) on soybean (Glycine max(L.) Merr.), red clover (Trifolium pratense L.),alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), and rutabaga (Brassica napobrassica,Mill).Plant B concentrations were compared to soil B extracted by hot-water,0.05 M HC1,1.5 M CH3COOH and 0.01 M CaCl2.The r values for extractable soil B vs.plant B were:hot water (0.67),0.05 M HCl(0.82),1.5M CH3COOH(0.78) and hot 0.01 M CaCl2(0.61).Results of soil B from the 0.05 M HCl extracts were generally found to give the best correlation and linear regression among the four extractants tested for predicting the availability of B to the plants.Overall,the 0.05 M HCl proved to be superior to hot water extraction and is recommended for predicting the available B status of the acid soils of P.E.I.The probability of error with 0.05 M HCL is less since it is shaken for a fixed period of time as opposed to subjective error which could be caused in monitoring the boiling time using hot water.
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