Oil Palm Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms N deficiency symptoms
Nitrogen deficiency affects chloroplast development and function, and in N-deficient leaves, leaves, protein proteinss are hydro hydrolyz lyzed ed (proteo (proteolys lysis) is) to produc producee amino amino acids, acids, which which are redistributed to younger leaves. Thus, N deficiency results in poor palm growth, and affecte affected d palms palms appear appear stunte stunted. d. Older Older frond frondss affecte affected d by N deficie deficiency ncy first first appear appear unifor uniformly mly pale pale green, green, before before turnin turning g pale pale or bright bright yello yellow w (chlor (chlorosi osis), s), and may subseuently be affected by die-bac! (necrosis) if severe and prolonged deficiency is not corrected. "hen deficiency is very pronounced pronounced,, necrosis develops first on the tips and margins of pinnae. The rachis and midrib of severely deficient fronds are yellowish orange, and pinnae are narrow and roll inwards. #eficiency symptoms are distributed over the entire frond, but older leaves are affected first. Nitrogen deficiency is found under the following conditions$ %) &cute shortage shortage of N (e.g. (e.g. sandy soils, soils soils with low low organic organic matter matter status, acid acid peat soils where the rate of N mineralization is small due to lac! of biological activity). ') alms alms affected affected by severe competit competition ion from weeds weeds (e.g. (e.g. mperata mperata cylindr cylindrica ica and *i!ania micrantha). +) oor oorly ly drai draine ned d soil soilss wher wheree root root deve develo lopm pmen entt and and soil soil N mine minera rali liza zati tion on are are decreased under anaerobic soil conditions. ) alms affected affected by transplan transplanting ting shoc! shoc! due to poor poor root establishmen establishmentt (i.e. seedlings seedlings handled carelessly and planted in soil affected by moisture stress). ) n addi additi tion on to the the appl applic icat atio ion n of mine minera rall N fert fertil iliz izer ers, s, N defi defici cien ency cy may may be prevented through proper soil preparation and planting standards, control of noious weeds, and the establishment of legume cover plants (/0) (1iller and 2airhurst, this volume). Nitrogen fertilizer is the driving force for rapid vegetative palm growth, and an adeuate supply of N is particularly important during the first five years after planting. "hen sufficient N fertilizer is applied and with good management, palms come into production ' months after planting with a yield of 34 t ha -% fruit bunches, but production may only commence +5 months after planting where insufficient N fertilizer fertiliz er is applied and general crop care is poor. & vigorously vigorously growing growing canopy of /0 returns returns about '+63++6 '+63++6 !g N ha -% yr -% to the soil ("atson, ("atson, %457 8an and 0hew, %49'). %49'). &n adeuate supply of is reuired to maimize biological N'-fiation in /0. &n application of 63%+6 !g ha -% in the form of a reactive reactive phosphate phosphate roc! is reuired reuired when /0 are sown on acid, infertile upland soils, particularly where the land has been cleared from sheet alangalang (mperata cylindrica). & large amount of nutrients accumulates in the aboveground /0 biomass, and these nutrients are returned to the soil surface as a protective mulch of leaf litter (1iller and 2airhurst, this volume).
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P deficiency symptoms
n contrast with most other nutrients, -deficient leaves do not show specific symptoms in oil palm other than reduced frond length. ¬her visible symptom of deficiency in oil palm is stunted growth with short dar! green fronds. Trun! diameter and bunch size are also reduced, and palms show a pronounced pyramid shape due to the progressive depletion of soil. There is some anecdotal evidence that premature desiccation of older leaves is associated with deficiency but no conclusive evidence is available at present. /egume cover plants are difficult to establish in low status soils. hosphorus-deficient /0 has small leaves and the groundcover is patchy and sparse (:horroc!s, %45). ;nder such situations, mperata cylindrica and other grasses generally out-compete /0. /0. Other Other plants plants that that indicat indicatee acid, acid, low -statu -statuss soils soils are :traits :traits rhodod rhododend endron ron (*elastoma (*elastoma alabathricum alabathricum)) and tropical brac!en brac!en (#icranopteri (#icranopteriss linearis). linearis). n tropical tropical soils, most of the available is contained in the topsoil. Thus, when sufficient fertilizer is applied to /0 at planting, the soil is covered with protective living mulch that reduces the loss of due to sheet erosion and surface water runoff.
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K deficiency symptoms
ota otassi ssium um defic deficien iency cy does does not not imme immedi diate ately ly resul resultt in the the appe appeara aranc ncee of visi visibl blee deficiency symptoms, but is indicated by reduced growth rates, decreased leaf turgor and increas increased ed suscep susceptib tibili ility ty to drough droughtt and disease diseasess such as 0ercosp 0ercospora ora leaf spot, spot, 1anoderma basal stem-rot and vascular wilt (2usarium sp.) (endergast, %4=7 Turner, %49%7 Turner, Turner, this volume7 von ;e!>ll, %49') (2igure 5). ?unch failure and plant failure are two physiological disorders that may be lin!ed to an inad inade eua uate te @ supp supply ly (Tur (Turne ner, r, %49% %49%). ). n youn young g palm palms, s, @ defi deficie cienc ncy y resu result ltss in a AflattoppedB appearance due to progressive frond shortening with each emerging leaf. & considerable variety of symptoms has been associated with @ deficiency in mature palms, related to local differences in environmental and genetic factors. &. 0onfluent 0onfluent Orange Orange :potting (0O:), (0O:), sometimes sometimes referred to as Aspec!led bronzingB bronzingB or Aspec!led yellowsB Orange spotting is the most common @ deficiency symptom and starts with the development of pale yellow, irregularly shaped spots along the pinnae of older fronds in the canopy. &s the symptoms become more severe, the spots turn orange and, in severe cases, spots fuse together to form bright orange lesions, which transmit light when the leaf is held against bright sunlight. &t a more advanced stage, brown spots appear in the centre of the orange spots and marginal necrosis develops along leaflets, starting from the distal end. innae also become brittle and the edges of leaves become desiccated and shattered. Occasionally single palms can be found with very intense and bright orange spotting when surrounding palms appear to be normal. :uch symptoms are usually of genetic origin and are sometimes described as genetic orange spotting (1O:). ?. #iffuse #iffuse yellowing yellowing or Amid-cro Amid-crown wn yellowin yellowingB gB :ymptoms of diffuse yellowing may be found on palms planted on @-deficient, acid sands or peat soils, especially during or after periods of water stress. innae in the lower to middle part of the canopy become pale (dull !ha!i or ochre coloured chlorosis) and then turn yellow or orange yellow. /ater, a very clearly defined and often necrotic band develops around the leaf margin of pinnae. n severe cases, older fronds suddenly desiccate and die. These symptoms should not be mista!en for Apeat yellowsB or Cn deficiency (see below).
0. Orange Orange blot blotch ch or *baw *bawsi si sympt symptom om The first symptom of orange blotch is the appearance of large, elongated diffuse olive-green blotches emerging in pairs half way along the pinnae of older fronds. "ith increasing age and severity the blotches turn bright yellow to orange and eventually brownish yellow before the pinnae desiccate and die. #. "hit "hitee str strip ipee
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"hite, pencil-li!e stripes occur on both sides of the mid-ribs of leaf pinnae, usually in the middle to upper part of the crown of young palms +35 years after field planting. "hite stripe is probably caused by a nutrient imbalance involving ecessive N use in relation to @ (leaf ND'.E and leaf @F%.6E) and probably a lac! of ?. "hite stripe should not be mista!en for 0himera, which is a genetic defect.
Mg deficiency symptoms
*agnesium-d *agnesium-deficien eficientt pinnae pinnae of older palm fronds fronds are chlorotic, and the symptoms symptoms are commonly described as orange frond. The first symptoms appear on older, basal fronds because *g is mobile and translocated from older to younger tissues in *g-deficient palms. ;nder conditions of severe deficiency, the affected leaves turn ochre to bright yellow and become desiccated. & diagnostic feature of *g deficiency is that shaded parts of leaves, though deficient in *g, remain green whilst *g deficient tissue fully eposed to the sun turns yellow. The occurrence of chlorosis on pinnae or frond parts eposed to the sunlight may be eplained by an accumulation of photosynthates (i.e. starch) in the leaf. This results in a feedbac! feedbac! reaction that leads to the accumulation accumulation of toic oygen species that finally cause the chlorosis and necrosis of *g deficient fronds. :evere *g deficiency is thus often erroneously called Asun-scorchB. *agnes *agnesium ium deficie deficiency ncy occurs occurs common commonly ly on palms palms planted planted on lightlight-tet teture ured d soils, soils, particularly where the t he topsoil has been eroded and the amount of soil echangeable *g -% is F 6.' cmol !g . *g deficiency may also be induced by large concentrations of other cations, e.g. 0a'G, @ G, N8G on volcanic soils or 8 G, &l+G, *n'G, @ G and N8 G on acid mineral soils with small buffer capacity.
S deficiency symptoms
The early stages of : deficiency resemble N deficiency. :ulfur-deficient pinnae are pale and small. ;nder acute : deficiency, small brown necrotic spots may appear. :ulfur deficiency may result in increased incidence of 0ercospora disease (0avez et al., %4=5) and has been identified in young palms grown on acid soils and poorly drained soils, with low soil organic organic matter status, or those formerly covered by savannah savannah vegetation (0avez et al., %4=5). #espite its strongly acidifying effect on the soil, an application of elemental : may be reuired particularly where non :-containing N-fertilizers (e.g. urea) are used.
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B deficiency symptoms
?oron ?oron deficie deficiency ncy is the most most widesp widespread read micronut micronutrien rientt disord disorder er in oil palm. palm. t is particularly common under high rainfall conditions, and on sandy and peat soils where ? is readily leached from the soil. ?oron deficiency is more li!ely to occur where$ %) :oil :oil p8 is is very low (F. (F.) ) or high high (D=. (D=.)7 )7 ') /arge /arge applicati application on rates of N and @ fertili fertilizers zers result result in vigoro vigorous us vegetativ vegetativee growth growth and large bunch yields7 and +) ?oron remova removall in crop yields yields has increased increased after the the introduction introduction of of the pollinatin pollinating g weevil (Hlaeidobius !amerunicus). *eristematic growth is impaired in ?-deficient palms, leading to retarded growth of root tips and other apical tissues. tis sues. Thus, ? deficiency symptoms involve abnormalities in leaf development such as Acrin!le leafB, Ahoo! leafB, Alittle leafB, Afishbone leafB, Astump leafB, and Ablind leafB. ?oron-deficient leaves are also brittle and dar! green. The earliest symptom of ? eficiency eficie ncy is the shortening of younger leaves (
B deficiency symptoms (cont..) Hook leaf rinkle leaf !ittle leaf "is#$one leaf !eaf s#attered %ound leaf Blind leaf
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u deficiency symptoms
alms affected by 0u deficiency are stunted, and during the early stages of deficiency, chloro chlorotic tic rectan rectangul gular ar spec!l spec!les es (6.3% (6.3% mm diamet diameter) er) appear appear on the young youngest est open open fronds. ;nder more severe 0u deficiency, newly emerged fronds are shorter than older leaves, and interveinal yellowing occurs on affected pinnae, starting from the distal end of the leaf. /eaf tips and margins gradually become necrotic. 0opper deficiency was first observed on peat soils (where 0u is compleed by organic compounds) and described as Amid-crown chlorosisB (Ng and Tan, %4=7 Ng et al., %4=). :ince then 0u deficiency has been identified on coarse-tetured ferrallitic and ferraginuou ferraginuouss soils poor in 0u, and calcareous soils developed developed from limestone. 0opper deficiency is accentuated by the application of N and fertilizers, but decreased by the application of @ fertilizer fertil izer ("anasuria and 1ales, %446).
Mn deficiency symptoms
*anganese deficiency sometimes occurs in oil palms grown on highly leached tropical soils, deep peat soils, or where large amounts of limestone have been applied to sandy soils (F%6E clay). *anganese deficiency results in reduced photosynthetic activity, inhibition of root growth, reduced tissue lignification, and thus increased susceptibility of roots to pathogenic attac!. #iscon #iscontin tinuou uouss interv interveina einall chloro chlorotic tic strea! strea!ss first first appear appear on young younger er fronds. fronds. These These longitudin longitudinal al strea!s strea!s eventually eventually become chlorotic chlorotic with a striped striped appearance. appearance. Newly emerg emerged ed frond frondss become become progre progressiv ssively ely smaller smaller and chloro chlorotic tic,, and the palm canopy canopy appears appears unthrifty unthrifty and retarded. n severe cases, chlorosis and necrosis affect the newly emerged spear before frond pinnae have epanded (@ee et al., %44b). "e deficiency symptoms
ron deficiency in oil palm is rarely recorded because tropical soils are usually well supplied with 2e (Ca!aria and Kamaludin, %44'). ron deficiency was reported recently in 4-year-old palms on a 8istic Tropauept in northern
On calca calcareo reous us soils soils77 On or or near near forme formerr termit termitee mound mounds7 s7 n soils soils ove overly rlyin ing g coral coral77 On poorly poorly drained drained soils in in the presence presence of 0u, 0u, Cn, and and *n7 *n7 and "here large large amounts amounts of fertilizers fertilizers have been applied applied..
nterveinal chlorosis appears on the youngest fronds but leaf veins remain green. The youngest fronds later turn white but older fronds are yellow. 1rowth ceases and death may occur after one year in severely 2e-deficient palms.
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