Oil palm Nutrient Deficiency: Signs, Causes and the Fertilizer That Fixes It
Oil palm nutrient deficiency is one of the first things to check when the leaves of your palma (oil palm) turn yellow, purple or burnt at the edges. On Philippine farms the usual ones are potassium, nitrogen, boron, magnesium and phosphorus. 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? Potassium, nitrogen, magnesium and phosphorus move inside the plant, so a shortage shows on the old, lower leaves first. But boron 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 oil palm nutrient deficiency you have, and a soil test confirms it. Each one below has its signs, its causes and its fix.
Oil palm nutrient deficiency signs, old leaves and young leaves
Shows first on the old leaves
| Nutrient | Where it starts | What you see | Fix with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potassium | old, lower leaves | Orange spots on the leaflets of old fronds that join into orange patches. | Muriate of potash 0 0 60, Complete 14 14 14 |
| Nitrogen | old, lower leaves, the whole plant | Old fronds pale yellow green with bright yellow midribs, and slow growth. | Urea 46 0 0, Ammonium sulfate 21 0 0 |
| Magnesium | old, lower leaves | Old fronds turn bright orange yellow, but the shaded part of each leaflet stays green. | Kieserite, Magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) |
| Phosphorus | old, lower leaves | Old fronds dull olive green and dying early. A thin, tapering trunk and small bunches. | Rock phosphate, Superphosphate 0 20 0 |
Shows first on the young leaves
| Nutrient | Where it starts | What you see | Fix with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boron | young leaves and the tip | Leaflet tips on new fronds bend into a hook. In bad cases fronds look like a fish bone. | Borax, Solubor |
Before you buy fertilizer for a oil palm nutrient deficiency
So use the table to pick the likeliest oil palm 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.
Potassium deficiency in oil palm
Pale green spots appear on the leaflets of older fronds, then turn orange and run together. Old fronds dry early, the middle of the crown yellows, and new fronds stay short. Fruit ripens unevenly and bunches are small and light. You see it most at this stage: young and bearing palms. The most common deficiency in oil palm.
Why potassium deficiency happens in palma
Oil palm needs more potash than any other nutrient, and most soils run short unless it is given. Sandy soils and heavy rain make it worse. It turns up on most farms that use only cheap NPK and never add straight potash.
How to tell it apart
Magnesium shortage also hits old fronds, but the whole frond goes bright orange yellow, and shaded parts of a leaflet stay green. Leaf spot diseases leave brown spots with no orange spread. To be sure, leaf test of frond number 17 is the standard sample. Also a soil test.
What to apply for potassium deficiency
Apply Muriate of potash 0 0 60 in two splits a year, spread in a 2 meter circle and forked in. Give 2.7 kg of potash (K2O) per palm per year from the third year, which is about 4.5 kg of Muriate of potash. Follow your soil and leaf test.
- Muriate of potash 0 0 60
- Complete 14 14 14
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. 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, give straight potash every year, not only NPK, and return empty fruit bunches and pruned fronds to the field. Test the soil every two or three years. Keep organic matter up with compost, manure or crop residues.
Nitrogen deficiency in oil palm
The older, lower fronds turn pale yellow green first while new fronds stay greener. Midribs can turn bright yellow. Growth slows, fronds stay short, and yields drop. You see it most at this stage: young palms after planting, and palms on wet or weedy sites.
Why nitrogen deficiency happens in palma
Poorly drained or waterlogged soils, weeds and grass competing in the circle, sandy soils and no fertilizer.
How to tell it apart
Sulfur shortage also yellows fronds, but starts on the young ones. Waterlogging alone can cause the same yellowing, so check drainage first. To be sure, leaf test of frond number 17. Check drainage and weed cover in the circle.
What to apply for nitrogen deficiency
Apply Urea 46 0 0 or Ammonium sulfate 21 0 0 in the weeded circle in two splits a year. Give 1.2 kg of nitrogen per palm per year from the third year (about 2.6 kg Urea). Fix drainage on wet sites.
- Urea 46 0 0
- Ammonium sulfate 21 0 0
- Complete 14 14 14
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.
To keep it away, keep the circle weeded, keep legume cover between rows, and fertilize every year. Let a soil test and the crop's color set the season's nitrogen. Keep organic matter up with compost, manure or crop residues.
Boron deficiency in oil palm
The first sign is a hook at the tip of the leaflets on young fronds, with crinkled leaflets. Then leaflets fail to open and break easily, fronds come out short and fan shaped, and the tip ends in bristles. In severe cases fronds carry only tiny leaflets like a fish bone, and the bud can rot dry. Fruit set is poor and bunches can drop early. You see it most at this stage: young palms most, and any age after a dry season.
Why boron deficiency happens in palma
Oil palm removes a lot of boron each year. Sandy soils, heavy rain followed by dry spells, and high pH bring it on. Smallholders often skip boron because it seems costly.
How to tell it apart
Hooked or crinkled new fronds can also follow insect damage to the spear or bud rot. But boron shortage shows the same hook on many fronds and returns after dry months. To be sure, look for hooked and fused leaflets on the newest fronds. Leaf test of frond number 17 for boron. In a soil test, less than 0.5 ppm of boron is low.
What to apply for boron deficiency
Apply Borax to the soil around the palm. Give 50 to 200 grams of Borax per palm depending on age and severity. 100 grams per palm per year as routine. Borax gives about 50 grams of its Fertibor product per young palm per year, rising to 100 to 200 grams.
- Borax
- Solubor
Sold here with boron: Etifert 11 (Borax Decahydrate) by Zetryl Chem (11 percent boron), Fertibagra 15G by Unilox Far East Resources (14.6 percent boron), B17 (Boric Acid) by Newman Chemicals (17 percent boron) and Better Yield by Bacphil Planters Fertilizer (0 0 0.9 with 10 percent boron). Check the FPA registration on the bag and follow the label rate. For the how and when, see our guide to foliar fertilizer, and the page on boron deficiency in every crop.
To keep it away, give a small boron dose every year with the main fertilizer. Too much boron is toxic, so stay within the rates. Test the soil every two or three years.
Magnesium deficiency in oil palm
Older fronds turn yellow then bright orange, the so called orange frond. A clear sign is that parts of a leaflet shaded by other leaflets stay dark green while the sunlit parts yellow. In bad cases the leaflet tips and edges die and old fronds dry up. Fruit set and bunch size drop. You see it most at this stage: young and bearing palms, often after heavy potash.
Why magnesium deficiency happens in palma
Sandy, acid, leached soils, and heavy potash fertilizer, which pushes magnesium out.
How to tell it apart
Potassium shortage shows orange spots that join up rather than a whole frond that yellows, and it has no green shaded patches. The two often come together. To be sure, leaf test of frond number 17 for magnesium and potash, and a soil test.
What to apply for magnesium deficiency
Apply Magnesium sulfate or Kieserite in the circle. Give 500 grams of Magnesium sulfate per palm per year. On acid soils Dolomite also works. Do not apply magnesium and potash on the same day. Put the soil dose in before planting or when the rains begin. Sprays show results in 10 to 14 days.
- Kieserite
- Magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt)
- Dolomite
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), Magnesium Sulphate Anhydrous by Newman Chemicals (20 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, keep magnesium in the yearly program whenever potash rates are high. Test the soil every two or three years. Lime acid soil with Dolomite rather than plain lime.
Phosphorus deficiency in oil palm
In seedlings, older leaves turn a dull, pale olive green. In older palms, the old fronds dry early, the trunk stays narrow and tapers like a pyramid, and roots are shallow. Flowering drops and bunches stay small. You see it most at this stage: seedlings and young palms most.
Why phosphorus deficiency happens in palma
Acid, weathered soils that lock up phosphorus, and soils low in organic matter. Phosphorus shortage is common on smallholder oil palm farms.
How to tell it apart
Nitrogen shortage makes fronds yellow green rather than dull olive. Poor drainage and grass competition also give thin, slow palms. To be sure, soil test for available phosphorus and a leaf test of frond number 17.
What to apply for phosphorus deficiency
Apply a phosphorus fertilizer in the circle in two splits a year. Rock phosphate is the best source: give 0.6 kg of phosphate (P2O5) per palm per year from the third year. Superphosphate acts faster. Follow the soil test.
- Rock phosphate
- Superphosphate 0 20 0
- Ammonium phosphate 18 46 0
- Complete 14 14 14
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 phosphorus in the planting hole and keep up yearly doses.
A soil test is the surest check for any oil palm 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 palma needs. That saves money, because extra fertilizer is money lost.
Open the Nutrient Deficiency Finder, pick palma, 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
Oil palm nutrient deficiency questions
Why are my palma leaves turning yellow?
What fertilizer fixes potassium deficiency in oil palm?
What fertilizer fixes nitrogen deficiency in oil palm?
What fertilizer fixes boron deficiency in oil palm?
How do I know which nutrient my palma lacks?
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.
The account is free, no credit card.
