Abaca Nutrient Deficiency: Signs, Causes and the Fertilizer That Fixes It
Abaca nutrient deficiency is one of the first things to check when the leaves of your abaka (abaca) turn yellow, purple or burnt at the edges. On Philippine farms the usual ones are nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc. This guide shows where each one starts, how to be sure, and the fertilizer that fixes it.
Start with one question: did the change begin on the old leaves or on the young ones? Nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium move inside the plant, so a shortage shows on the old, lower leaves first. But zinc stay where the plant first put them, so the young leaves and the growing tip show it first. After that, the color and the pattern narrow down which abaca nutrient deficiency you have, and a soil test confirms it. Each one below has its signs, its causes and its fix.
Abaca nutrient deficiency signs, old leaves and young leaves
Shows first on the old leaves
| Nutrient | Where it starts | What you see | Fix with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen | old, lower leaves, the whole plant | Pale yellow green plants that stay short, with thin stalks and small leaves. | Ammonium sulfate 21 0 0, Complete 14 14 14 |
| Potassium | old, lower leaves, leaf edges and tips | Old leaves yellow and scorch orange brown from the tip and edges. Short plants. | Complete 14 14 14, Muriate of potash 0 0 60 |
| Phosphorus | old, lower leaves, leaf edges and tips | Short pseudostems and narrow leaves. Old leaf edges yellow and young leaves look bluish. | Complete 14 14 14, 16 20 0 |
| Magnesium | old, lower leaves, between the veins | Old leaves yellow in the middle of the blade, edges stay green, leaf stalks show purple blotches. | Dolomite, Magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) |
Shows first on the young leaves
| Nutrient | Where it starts | What you see | Fix with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zinc | young leaves and the tip, between the veins | Young leaves narrow with yellow stripes between the veins, but no dark streaks like bunchy top. | Zinc sulfate |
Before you buy fertilizer for a abaca nutrient deficiency
So use the table to pick the likeliest abaca nutrient deficiency, then read its section below. Also keep in mind that dry soil, standing water, cold nights, a pest or a disease can look the same. That is why it pays to check the roots and the whole field first.
Nitrogen deficiency in abaca
Abaca is a close cousin of banana and shows nitrogen shortage the same way. Old leaves turn light green, then yellow, and leaf stalks can redden. Plants stay short with thin stalks, small leaves and little leaf area, so the fiber harvest is light. Of all the shortages, lack of nitrogen keeps plants the shortest, with the least leaf area and the palest leaves. You see it most at this stage: from planting through the first harvest, and in old hills that are never fertilized.
Why nitrogen deficiency happens in abaka
Most abaca farmers do not fertilize at all, and every harvest carries nutrients off the farm. Steep, eroded and sandy soils show it first.
How to tell it apart
Potassium shortage also stunts abaca, but it scorches old leaf tips orange brown. Bunchy top and mosaic viruses also give weak, yellowish plants, but with streaks, mosaic patterns or bunched narrow leaves. To be sure, A soil test and a leaf test. Get a soil test before opening a new farm and every five years after.
What to apply for nitrogen deficiency
Apply Ammonium sulfate 21 0 0 or Complete 14 14 14 after ring weeding, 60 to 90 cm away from the hill. Give ammonium sulfate at planting and at 8 months, then complete fertilizer at 21 months. Established farms get Complete 14 14 14 once a year before or after the rainy season, about a quarter kilo per hill (12 bags per hectare).
- Ammonium sulfate 21 0 0
- Complete 14 14 14
- Urea 46 0 0
Sold here with nitrogen: Atlas Granular Urea (46 0 0) by Atlas Fertilizer, Amigo Planters Ammonium Chloride by La Filipina (25 0 0), Agripower 46 0 0 (Locally Blended) Coated by Green Acres Agri Tech and Calcipro by Ramgo (15.5 0 0 with 18.8 percent calcium). Check the FPA registration on the bag and follow the label rate. For the how and when, see our guide to urea fertilizer, and the page on nitrogen deficiency in every crop. In anee.io, Anee, the smart farm technician, reads a photo of the leaf and tells you which nutrient is short.
To keep it away, fertilize every year, return stripping waste and leaves as compost, and plant cover crops on slopes. Let a soil test and the crop's color set the season's nitrogen. Split the nitrogen into two or three doses.
Potassium deficiency in abaca
Signs follow banana, its close cousin. Old leaves yellow from the tip, turn orange, then dry brown along the edges, and the midrib may bend. Plants stay short with thin stalks. Abaca suffers most from a lack of nitrogen and potassium. Plants without potassium were among the shortest. You see it most at this stage: from the first months through harvest, and in old hills that are cut often.
Why potassium deficiency happens in abaka
Fiber harvests remove potash every cycle, and most farms never return it. Sandy and leached soils under heavy rain lose it fastest.
How to tell it apart
Magnesium shortage also yellows old leaves, but the leaf edge stays green and leaf stalks show purple mottling. Leaf spot diseases show spots and streaks across the leaf rather than a scorch from the tip. To be sure, soil test for potash and a leaf test.
What to apply for potassium deficiency
Apply Complete 14 14 14, after ring weeding and 60 to 90 cm from the hill. Where the soil test shows low potash, add Muriate of potash 0 0 60 in split doses. Give 200 to 300 grams of Muriate of potash 0 0 60 a hill every two to three months, more as the bunch forms.
- Complete 14 14 14
- Muriate of potash 0 0 60
Sold here with potassium: Atlas Muriate of Potash (MOP) by Atlas Fertilizer (0 0 60), Simplot Sulfate 0 0 50 by Nutranta, Potassium Nitrate by Parafield (13 0 46) and Qrop Mix Production 14 0 23 plus 13 Cao by Farmtech Agriland (14 0 23 with 9.3 percent calcium). Check the FPA registration on the bag and follow the label rate. For the how and when, see our guide to potash fertilizer, and the page on potassium deficiency in every crop.
To keep it away, fertilize every year and return stripping waste and old leaves to the field. Keep organic matter up with compost, manure or crop residues.
Phosphorus deficiency in abaca
Without phosphorus, abaca grows shorter pseudostems and narrower leaves, but the plant's height stays close to normal. As in banana, old leaf edges may yellow and die and young leaves can look dark bluish green. Roots stay weak. You see it most at this stage: early growth after planting.
Why phosphorus deficiency happens in abaka
Acid soils that lock up phosphorus, and soils low in organic matter. Abaca does best at pH 5.8 to 7.0, so very acid soils bring it on.
How to tell it apart
Nitrogen shortage gives pale, not dark, leaves. Poor drainage and root pests also stunt plants. To be sure, soil test for available phosphorus and pH.
What to apply for phosphorus deficiency
Use Complete 14 14 14 at planting and after, and lime very acid soils. Where the test shows very low phosphorus, add 16 20 0 or Ammonium phosphate 18 46 0, following the soil test. Give 100 to 200 grams of Complete 14 14 14 a hill at planting and every three months.
- Complete 14 14 14
- 16 20 0
- Ammonium phosphate 18 46 0
- Agricultural lime
Sold here with phosphorus: Philphos 18 46 0 (Di Ammonium Phosphate), Atlas Super Gro (16 20 0) by Atlas Fertilizer, Amigo Planters Granular Single Super Phosphate by La Filipina (0 18 0 with 11 percent sulfur) and Triple Super Phosphate by Newman Chemicals (0 46 0). Check the FPA registration on the bag and follow the label rate. For the how and when, see our guide to 16 20 0 fertilizer, and the page on phosphorus deficiency in every crop.
To keep it away, put a phosphorus fertilizer in the planting hole and add compost.
Magnesium deficiency in abaca
Abaca shows it the way banana does. Old leaves yellow in the middle of the blade near the midrib while the edge stays green. Leaf stalks show purple mottling, and dead spots form in the yellow parts. You see it most at this stage: older hills, especially after heavy potash.
Why magnesium deficiency happens in abaka
Acid, sandy, leached soils and heavy potash fertilizer.
How to tell it apart
Potassium shortage starts at the leaf tip and edge as an orange scorch. Viral mosaic gives streaks and patterns on young leaves. To be sure, soil test for magnesium, potash and calcium, and a leaf test.
What to apply for magnesium deficiency
Apply Dolomite on acid soils, or Magnesium sulfate or Kieserite where pH is fine, following the soil test. Do not apply magnesium and potash on the same day. Give 50 to 100 grams of Kieserite or Magnesium sulfate a hill every three months, or Dolomite on acid soil.
- Dolomite
- Magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt)
- Kieserite
Sold here with magnesium: Dolomite by A6 Agrisource (24 percent calcium and 11 percent magnesium), Agsmart Kieserite Granule (20 percent sulfur and 16.3 percent magnesium), DDDD Planter's Choice Magnesium Sulphate Monohydrate by Modern Time (15.1 percent magnesium) and Zetryl MAG 9 by Zetryl Chem (9 percent magnesium). Check the FPA registration on the bag and follow the label rate. For the how and when, see our guide to complete fertilizer, and the page on magnesium deficiency in every crop.
To keep it away, use dolomite when liming and keep potash and magnesium in balance.
Zinc deficiency in abaca
Abaca shows it like banana, where zinc is the trace nutrient that runs short most often. Young leaves come out smaller and narrower, with yellow and green stripes between the side veins. A purple tint under the rolled new leaf. You see it most at this stage: young plants and new suckers.
Why zinc deficiency happens in abaka
High pH or limed soils, organic soils and heavy phosphorus.
How to tell it apart
Abaca bunchy top virus, spread by the banana aphid, is the bigger worry: it gives small, narrow, bunched leaves with dark green streaks along the veins and the plant stops growing. Zinc shortage has no dark streaks and new leaves recover after a zinc spray. To be sure, test spray Zinc sulfate on a few plants and watch the next leaves. A leaf test and soil pH help. In a soil test, less than 0.8 ppm of zinc is low.
What to apply for zinc deficiency
Spray Zinc sulfate on young leaves. Mix 2 to 5 grams in each liter of water. Follow the soil test for any soil dose. A usual soil dose is 20 to 25 kg of Zinc sulfate per hectare (about 5 kg of zinc), mixed with the basal fertilizer. It lasts two or three crops. A spray of Zinc sulfate at 0.5 percent (80 grams in a 16 liter sprayer), with half as much hydrated lime, works within days.
- Zinc sulfate
Sold here with zinc: Harvester Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate by Universal Harvester (22 percent zinc), Petbowe Zinc Sulphate Monohydrate (33 percent zinc), Tierramino ZN by Unilox Far East Resources (7 0 0 with 10 percent zinc) and Liquid Chelate Zinc with Sulfur by Sagrex (10 percent zinc and 5 percent sulfur). Check the FPA registration on the bag and follow the label rate. For the how and when, see our guide to fertilizer with zinc, and the page on zinc deficiency in every crop.
To keep it away, avoid overliming and very heavy phosphorus.
A soil test is the surest check for any abaca nutrient deficiency. Before you buy, ask your Municipal Agriculture Office where to send a soil sample. The DA regional soil laboratories test soil, and the result says how much of each fertilizer your abaka needs. That saves money, because extra fertilizer is money lost.
Open the Nutrient Deficiency Finder, pick abaka, say where the leaves changed first and what you see, and get the fertilizers sold here that fix it.
- Anee, the smart farm technician, reads a photo of the leaf
- The cropping calendar dates every fertilizer application of your season
Abaca nutrient deficiency questions
Why are my abaka leaves turning yellow?
What fertilizer fixes nitrogen deficiency in abaca?
What fertilizer fixes potassium deficiency in abaca?
What fertilizer fixes phosphorus deficiency in abaca?
How do I know which nutrient my abaka lacks?
- Repaso and others 2024, Why do farmers not use fertilizer? Abaca under coconut in Zamboanga Peninsula
- Yara Philippines: Nitrogen deficiency in banana (same genus, used for symptoms)
- Yara Philippines: Potassium deficiency in banana (same genus, used for symptoms)
- Yara Philippines: Phosphorus deficiency in banana (same genus, used for symptoms)
- Yara Philippines: Magnesium deficiency in banana (same genus, used for symptoms)
- Yara Philippines: Zinc deficiency in banana (same genus, used for symptoms)
Find the missing nutrient and fix it
With Libre + Anee, read the whole guide: how to tell the deficiency from look alikes, how to be sure, what to apply, and the fertilizers sold here that supply it.
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