Relationship Between Deformed-Fruit Disease of Papaya and Boron Deficiency

Leaf samples collected from papaya trees with deformed fruits contained only about one-fourth as much boron as the leaves of healthy trees. Tomato and lettuce grown in soils collected from diseased fields developed typical boron deficiency symptoms. The disease was controlled by spraying leaves of diseased trees with 0.25% borax or boric acid solution, or by applying 0.5 g borax around a diseased tree. Results indicate that this deformed-fruit disease of papaya is caused by boron deficiency