When choosing a boron supplement for your crops, you really do get what you pay for. Not all borate products produce the same quality or level of useable boron, so price is not necessarily the best measure of true return on investment (ROI). That’s why it’s important to know the differences between various types of products and what to look for so you understand exactly what you’re getting.
One of the popular products on the market today is made from granulated ulexite, a sodium-calcium borate product that is only partially water soluble and not as available to crops. Ulexite is made of raw mineral borates that often contain high levels of calcium—a mineral that can actually cause boron deficiency symptoms in plants. Raw, non-refined mineral borates can release too slowly, and they often contain contaminants such as arsenic and other heavy metals.
Faced with shrinking profit margins and increasing costs, growers may find it tempting to cut costs by going with a less expensive product. But a cheaper product can actually end up costing more over the long term if you find you need to apply more of it, or if your treatment is not providing the amount of boron advertised or recommended by your agronomist. Pound for pound, a
high-quality refined boron product is a much better investment.
Invest in Granubor for a higher ROI
Engineered specifically to meet crops’ boron demands at every growth stage,
Granubor® delivers a significantly greater return on investment than unrefined products , which can cost
up to 2.5 times more over the course of the growing season.
Compared to its competitors,
Granubor is the least expensive product in terms of the amount of plant-available active ingredient. While some ulexite products contain the same amount of boron as Granubor (15%), a large amount of the micronutrient will never be used by crops.
Granubor is 100% refined borate, mined from one of the cleanest sources in the world. Our refinement process makes it even cleaner by removing impurities such as calcium and heavy metals, maximizing potential boron uptake. Most other borates are minimally processed—simply washed, dried, crushed, and granulated—and their high calcium content makes them less soluble, and therefore provide unable to provide boron availability during critical periods.
Solubility is critical to farmers who want a release profile that matches plant requirements. Only Granubor can deliver 100% availability over the entire growing season.
Granubor is also the most cost-effective way to get the greatest amount of the essential nutrient to plants at every stage of development. It exactly matches the boron use requirements for many of the major crops. Ulexite products, on the other hand, may claim to be extended release but only release at about 40% the rate of
Granubor. And, because
Granubor is 100% water soluble, more boron is made available to plants. Competitors’ products are typically only 30 to 40% water soluble and cannot adequately meet crops’ boron demands. In fact, growers who use these supplements might need to apply a foliar treatment later in the season if testing indicates boron deficiency. This second treatment will increase costs significantly.
Clearly not all borate products are created equal or produce the same results. When you choose
Granubor, you can feel confident that your investment will pay off through substantially higher crop production and a healthier bottom line.
Be sure to ask your dealer for our new and improved version of
Granubor when you are ready for your fall application. Engineered to provide more boron and contain less dust, it will be coming soon to a retailer near you.
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