Summary
1. It was shown that boron is an essential micro-element forAzotobacter chroococcum.
2. Multiplication, CO2 production, N fixation and pigmentation are closely related to the boron content of the culture medium. Of these, pigmentation is most susceptible to slight boron deficiency; with an easily assimilable carbon source (mannite, glucose) nitrogen fixation seems to be more susceptible than multiplication to boron deficiency.
3. With increasing gifts of boron, the CO2 production curves in quartz sand with nutrients as well as in liquid cultures follow each other at regular sequences.
4. The optimum boron content for normal development ofAzotobacter amounts toca 2 ppm in liquid cultures, to 5 ppm in quartz sand cultures, whereas in soils sometimes 8 ppm B are tolerated, without noticeable loss of activity.
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Gerretsen, F.C., de Hoop, H. Boron, an essential micro-element forAzotobacter chroococcum . Plant Soil 5, 349–367 (1954). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01354457
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01354457