Boron guide
Boron is a micronutrient the crop needs to build cell walls, to grow at its tips, and above all for pollen to germinate and grow, so...
Read the full guideBoron deficiency symptoms crop by crop
How boron deficiency looks in cotton, groundnut, mango, pomegranate, coconut, banana, cauliflower, grapes and papaya, and how to confirm it safely.
Boron deficiency shows at the growing tips, flowers and fruit: dying tips with bushy side shoots, thick brittle young leaves, shedding of flowers and young fruit, cracked or misshapen fruit and hollow stems or kernels. Cotton, groundnut, mango, pomegranate, coconut and cauliflower are commonly affected.
By Gafar Laiya and the Gujarat Bio Organics team. Updated November 2026.
Crop by crop
| Crop | What you see |
|---|---|
| Cotton | Shedding of squares and young bolls, dark rings on leaf stalks, distorted bolls. |
| Groundnut | Hollow heart: kernels with a hollow, dark centre; poor pod filling. |
| Mango | Fruit cracking, poor fruit set and internal browning; malformed leaves on new flush. |
| Pomegranate | Fruit cracking and poor flowering. |
| Coconut | Hooked, crinkled or fused leaflets on new leaves and button shedding. |
| Banana | Small, deformed bunches and curled young leaves. |
| Cauliflower and cabbage | Hollow stem, brown curd or head, and corky patches. |
| Grapes | Uneven berries (hen and chicken), poor bunch set. |
| Papaya | Lumpy, misshapen fruit with hard patches. |
Look-alikes
- Calcium shortage also causes fruit disorders; boron and calcium work together, so test both.
- Insect damage can kill growing tips; look for holes or larvae.
- Heat and water stress also drop flowers; boron-short crops drop flowers even in good weather.
When to look
- Before and during flowering.
- During fruit and pod development.
- After a dry spell on light soils.
Confirm and correct
- Confirm with a soil or leaf test before you spend.
- Read the full boron guide for causes and correction.
- Use the symptom guide to compare with other nutrients.
Doses depend on the crop, soil and product, so this page gives methods, not amounts. Take the dose from your soil test report, the product label or your local agriculture officer or KVK. Results differ from farm to farm with soil, weather, crop and management. Farmer experiences on this site are their own reports, not a promise of results.
Read next
Boron for flowering and fruit set: why the dose window is narrow
How boron helps pollen and fruit set, why flower and fruit drop often trace back to boron, and why the gap between too little and too much is small.
Read the full guideHow Gujarat Bio Organics can help
Since 2006, lakhs of farmers from Kashmir to Kanyakumari have used Immunity products on almost every crop: from the mango farms around Somnath to the apple orchards of Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir, the tea estates of Assam and Darjeeling, and the banana, coconut and cardamom farms of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Each Special is one formula made for one crop and its common problems. Tell us your crop, soil test and what you see, and our team will tell you what to check, whether a micronutrient correction is needed, and which Special fits your programme.
- Cotton guide and Immunity Cotton Special
- Groundnut (Mungfali) guide and Immunity Mungfali (Groundnut) Special
- Mango guide and Immunity Mango Special
- Pomegranate guide and Immunity Pomegranate Special
- Coconut guide and Immunity Coconut Special
- Vegetables guide and Immunity Vegetable Special
Results differ from farm to farm with soil, weather, crop and management. Farmer experiences on this site are their own reports, not a promise of results.
Questions
What does boron deficiency look like in cotton?
Shedding of squares and young bolls, dark rings on leaf stalks, distorted bolls.
What does boron deficiency look like in groundnut?
Hollow heart: kernels with a hollow, dark centre; poor pod filling.
What does boron deficiency look like in mango?
Fruit cracking, poor fruit set and internal browning; malformed leaves on new flush.