Burl Sheldon adds a mixture of borax and water to the soil in his orchard in order to raise his boron levels on Sunday, April 7, 2024, in Haines, Alaska.

The element boron (B) is a plant micro-nutrient and deficient in many Alaska-area soils, including in the Chilkat Valley. Boron is easily leached away where soils are seasonally saturated with water.

In 2021-2022, the Chilkat Valley Orchard Project collected and analyzed about 30 local soil…