How to treat peppers with boric acid: features and application rates

Pepper

You can get a large pepper harvest using fertilizers. One of its varieties is boric acid (formula H₃BO₃), which is used by gardeners. However, plants must be sprayed correctly, strictly adhering to the dosage and recommendations of specialists.

Benefits of boric acid

Vegetable growers use boric acid as a spray on pepper seedlings. This procedure produces positive results.

Attention!

Boron is one of the essential microelements required by vegetable crops throughout the flowering period.

Using boric acid for peppers growing in the garden has its advantages:

seeds treated with this product germinate quickly;
stimulation and acceleration of growth;
improved release of oxygen, nitrogen and other minerals;
the number of fruits increases;
pepper is not affected by fungus;
the period of vegetation and ovary formation is activated;
Treating pepper seedlings with boric acid, which grows indoors, saturates the roots with useful minerals;
the shelf life of the harvest increases;
the quality of fruits improves;
Using this insecticide to disinfect seeds will help prevent fungal infections in the future.

Feeding with boric acid It is also beneficial for the ovary: it is preserved better, and the number of empty flowers is reduced.

Boron deficiency and excess in plants

Spraying peppers with boric acid should be done with caution, as both a deficiency and an excess are equally detrimental to the crop. You can recognize a boron deficiency by the following signs:

the leaves began to decrease in size and become deformed;
the growth of young shoots stopped, and the upper ones began to die off;
the ovary and flowers fall off, and new ones do not form;
crop yields are declining;
Fruit development does not occur according to plan.

Excess boron can be determined by the foliage:

turns yellow and falls off;
takes on the shape of a dome;
curls at the ends.

To avoid such consequences, the element must be used correctly, strictly adhering to the recommended dosage.

Why do you need to treat peppers with boric acid?

Gardeners use these fertilizers to fertilize various crops in their gardens, treat seeds, and treat soil. The substance is colorless and odorless and comes in crystal form. It can be found at any fertilizer store.

Attention!

Boric acid belongs to hazard class 4, so it will not cause burns if it comes into contact with exposed skin.

You can also find it in powder form. In this case, the insecticide must be diluted in water before fertilizing the plant. Carefully follow the instructions.

Among the positive properties of boron that it has on pepper, we can highlight:

replenishes the deficiency of this element;
calcium is better absorbed;
oxygen reaches the roots;
the production of biologically active substances is increased;
the number of ovaries increases, and therefore the number of fruits;
improving the taste of vegetables;
shelf life increases;
combating excess fertilizers containing nitrogen or potassium;
prevents the invasion of parasites and the development of diseases.

Attention!

It is better to spray crops with boric acid - this way the visible effect will be noticeable faster.

A drawback of boron use is the risk of burning the leaves if the peppers are watered improperly. To avoid this, gardeners use a spray bottle.

When to spray peppers

When starting to water the plant with a chemical, consider its appearance. A boron deficiency will cause leaves and fruit to fall off, and the plant will not develop.

If you need to extend the fruiting period and fertilize the pepper, then during the flowering period you need to spray three times:

during the period of bud ripening – will accelerate development;
when the first flowers appear, the ovaries will improve, which will prevent them from falling off;
During the ripening period, the number of fruits will increase.

Fertilizer application doesn't have to be scheduled. It's best to rely on the crop's development and condition. If any changes for the worse occur, you can begin the process. The ideal time is evening or a cloudy, precipitation-free day.

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Preparation of a boric acid solution

Vegetable growers dilute the powder to create a solution. This requires the crystals to completely dissolve. Therefore, the solution should first be diluted in a small amount of hot water heated to 85°C (175°F), then, while stirring, add cold liquid to reach the volume specified in the instructions.

Attention!

To process peppers, you only need a cold solution.

You can prepare a spray mixture with orthoboric acid and other compounds. For example, combining the product with potassium permanganate has proven effective. To do this, add a pinch of the powder to 10 liters of a weak potassium permanganate solution.

You can also use glucose at a rate of 10 ml per bucket of product. Adding soap to the fertilizer will help it stick to the leaves, and the effect will last longer.

How to use boric acid for peppers

Vegetable growers use it for:

crop fertilizing;
soaking seeds before sowing;
soil fertilizers;
fight against diseases and parasites.

The method of application depends on the purpose of use.

Top dressing

Boron is not found in its pure form in nature; it occurs as boric acid or its soluble salts. Naturally occurring compounds of the element are found in large quantities in chernozem and chestnut soils.

However, they are almost absent in soils composed of sand or clay. Therefore, additional fertilization with boron-containing products is necessary. This can be done in one of two ways.

Root feeding

This method is rarely used, only in extreme cases: disease or obvious boron deficiency. To prepare the solution, mix 2 g of the substance in a bucket of liquid and water the peppers from a watering can at the roots or between rows. This volume is sufficient for treating an area of 10 m2.²After the procedure, loosen the soil.

Attention!

To prevent the fertilizer from burning the lower leaves, you need to moisten the soil with clean water before applying it.

The nutritional value of the solution can be increased by adding urea or mullein to it.

Foliar feeding

Vegetable growers apply boric acid throughout the entire flowering period. This method involves applying boric acid three times:

before the beginning of the growing season;
in the process of budding;
during the fruiting period.

For spraying, you'll need a 0.05% solution. To do this, stir 5 g of powder into a bucket of water. The key is to distribute the solution evenly across the green foliage. A sprayer will be needed for this.

The procedure should be carried out in calm, windless weather in the morning or evening. The fertilizer must be fresh before application. The application rate is 1 liter per 10 m.².

Soaking seeds

In this case, to prepare the solution you will need 2 g of H₃BO₃ per bucket of liquid. The seeds are soaked in it for 24 hours. For a more effective solution, you can dissolve the substance not in water, but in a mixture of onion peel, ash, and potassium permanganate. For this, you will need:

Pour 1 liter of boiling water over 2 heaps of onion peel and let it steep;
dissolve a liter jar of ash in 1 liter of liquid;
mix the resulting solutions – you should get about 2 liters;
add 2 g of potassium permanganate;
Dissolve boric acid powder (0.2-0.4 g), add 1 teaspoon of soda.

Processing in this way will protect the replacement material from parasites.

Gardeners add a little potassium permanganate to the insecticide solution, as it kills all pathogens. This prevents infectious diseases from affecting the peppers.

Soil fertilization

Before planting seedlings or sowing seeds, gardeners also fertilize the soil. They water it with a pre-prepared solution of 0.2 g of the substance per bucket of liquid, then loosen the soil. A few hours before fertilizing, the soil is watered generously with clean water.

This method is used to fertilize poor, acidic, or marshy soils. It's also acceptable to sprinkle boric acid on the manure before applying it.

To combat diseases and pests

The chemical kills all harmful microorganisms because it's a powerful antiseptic. Treating peppers with it helps prevent dangerous fungal infections, including late blight and blackleg, which are quite difficult to treat.

To spray plants already infected with late blight, you can use a solution of boric acid, potassium permanganate, and iodine. How to use:

Spray the pepper with potassium permanganate.
After a week, treat with orthoboric acid at a rate of 2 g per bucket of water.
After another 7 days, spray the plants with iodine.

The most common mistakes gardeners make

Vegetable growers often make mistakes when growing peppers that are harmful to the crop:

Boron deficiency is often confused with an excess of the element. To avoid this, carefully inspect the leaves and understand the main symptoms of deficiency and excess.
root feeding is applied to soil that has not been moistened beforehand;
Spray during the day when the sun is at its strongest. In this case, boric acid will cause severe burns on the foliage.

Knowing these mistakes, you can correct them and prevent them from happening again.

Reviews

Igor, Saratov

I've been growing peppers for a long time, but only recently started soaking the seeds in boric acid. I noticed the results almost immediately: germination improved, and the plants became stronger and more robust.

Olga, Nizhny Tagil

I've been using boric acid to spray my peppers for a long time now. I do this before bud formation and during flowering. This prevents bud drop and keeps the harvest bountiful.

Elena, Moscow region

I've been feeding my peppers with boric acid for three years now. As a result, the flowers and ovaries remain intact, and I harvest many beautiful, healthy fruits. Incidentally, I've tried this method on other crops in my garden, but I've noticed positive changes specifically with peppers.

Using this substance allows you to get a healthy and abundant pepper harvest. However, you must handle it carefully to avoid damaging the seedlings.