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Oil palm
Magnesium and sulphur
| Required for: |
Trunk & canopy formation, FFB yield, oil production, root growth
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| High deficiency risk: |
Mg: |
Oxi- and Ultisols, topsoil eroded areas, Andosols with high Ca2+ contents
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S: |
Highly weathered soils, low in organic matter and high in Fe oxides
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| Deficiency symptoms: |
Mg: |
Firstly found on the distal end of older leaf pinnae as olive green to ochre coloured patches, particular those exposed to sunlight, under severe deficiency, leaves become ochre to bright yellow and finally desiccate
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S: |
Rarely found due to widespread use of ammonium sulphate as nitrogen source
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| Optimal leaf concentrations |
Mg: |
0.25-0.35% |
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S: |
0.25-0.35% |
| Recommendations: |
0.5 - 1.0 kg Kieserite/palm/year (young trees).
1.0 - 1.5 kg Kieserite/palm/year (mature trees).
Soils with a poor Mg status double the amounts should be applied in 2-3 splits. In young palms fertilizer is applied in the weeded circle, whereas mature palms are supplied in the intererow. On sloping lands, application of Kieserite together with empty bunches improves efficiency of application. |
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Basal frond of a severely Mg deficient oil palm.
A close up of magnesium deficiency symptoms on oil palm leaflets.
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