BORON A Magical ESSENTIAL Mineral – Part Three

Of all the articles I have posted in the Health Area, I think this topic BORON has attracted the most attention. It has been up and available for quite some time now and, as does happen from time to time, when sharing information from other sites, links no longer work, or are taken down by their owners.

I was just today advised by a reader that a couple of links in my two earlier articles are no longer available. I promised that I would try and find others that maybe similar and of use to seekers of knowledge.

The History of this mineral is well worth researching.
HISTORY

TIMELINE

Reports and Publications from Rio Tinto

Life depends on boron
The role borates play in life and modern living. This is fascinating.

Planet Boron
Boron applications in everyday life

Borates’ Health and Safety Effects – Backgrounder
Commonly asked questions and answers about boron and its impact on health and safety

Boron – The Marker Of A Healthy Diet 

Plants get the boron they need from soil and water. In fact, they can’t live without it. For humans, experts agree that boron is nutritionally important, and mounting evidence suggests that boron may be an essential element to our diet as well.   Full story

The Physiological Effects of Dietary Boron — WORTH READING

ABSTRACT: Boron may be an essential nutrient for animals and humans. Dietary boron influences the activity of many metabolic enzymes, as well as the metabolism of steroid hormones and several micronutrients, including calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D. Boron supplementation in rats and chicks has been shown to increase bone strength. Boron may also play a role in improving arthritis, plasma lipid profiles, and brain function. Additional research is necessary to further clarify boron’s influence in human and animal physiology, as well as determine a dietary requirement for humans.

In The Green: Update on boron’s role as an essential plant micronutrient

The roots of civilization

Animals and vegetables are alike in at least one important way: they both need minerals to survive. People didn’t know about mineral nutrients when they first started growing crops more than 10,000 years ago. But they did know that planting seeds and harvesting crops raised their own survival rates.

With the advent of agriculture, the roots of civilization took hold. Figuring out what nutrients plants need to thrive has concerned us ever since.

When we knew of only four “elements,” it was pretty clear that plants needed three of them – earth, water and air – to grow. With better science, the list grew longer. Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium were identified as primary nutrients and, on the second tier, sulphur, magnesium and calcium.

But it has only been in the last 75 years that scientists and farmers discovered another section in agriculture’s intricate chemical orchestra. Key to producing full-volume crop yields are seven micronutrients: boron, copper, chlorine, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc.

The fruits of knowledge

These seven elements are the unsung heroes of the plant world. Only trace amounts are needed, so we don’t hear about them often. They perform at the cellular level, so we don’t see them work. Nevertheless, they have an enormous impact on plants’ – and thus everybody else on the planet’s – survival.

Picture the world without even one of them:

Boron
Boron is integral to a plant’s reproductive cycle; controlling flowering, pollen production, germination, and seed and fruit development. The mineral also acts as a fuel pump, aiding the transmission of sugars from older leaves to new growth areas and root systems. Fields of cotton, canola, clover and corn produce higher crop yields with boron supplements. Farmers get up to 13 bushels more soybeans per acre. In fact, boron makes almost every fruit, nut and vegetable crop healthier – and more marketable.

Take the boron bonus out of the system and what happens? Celery grows crooked. Carrots fork. Apple cores get corky. Table beets blacken. Peanuts develop hollow hearts. And cotton yields decrease. While these problems sound whimsical, the consequences are anything but for the farmer who cannot market the damaged crop, or indeed, for the global food supply.

For new readers here are the links to PART ONE  and PART TWO of the articles this page refers to.

I have enjoyed reading your comments and find this mineral study to be most interesting.