Nutritional characteristics of sage palm and oil palm in tropical peat soil

Matsumoto M, Osaki M, Nuyim T, Jongskul A, Eam-on P, Kitaya Y, Urayama M, Watanabe T, Kawamukai T, Nakamura T, Nilnond C, Shinano T, Tadano T

JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION 21 (9): 1819-1841 1998

Abstract: To make clear the nutritional characteristics of sago palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) and oil palm (Elaeis guineensin Jacq.) grown in tropical peat soil, minerals concentration, organic compounds concentration, and photosynthetic rate were estimated, and the obtained results were as follows. Since, the nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sodium (Na) concentration in mature leaves and trunk were higher in the oil palm than in the sage palm, but potassium (K) concentration was higher in the sage palm than in the oil palm, the minerals (especially N, P, Ca, and Mg) requirement for the oil palm were higher than in the sage palm. This indicates that the sage palm will adapt better than the oil palm to soils with poor nutrients. The manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) concentration in leaves of the sage palm and Ca and aluminum (Al) concentration in leaves of the oil palm increased with the increase of aging, indicating that those elements are eliminated fi om plants through leaf senescence. Tn the sage palm, the N and P distribution ratio to leaves remained almost constant during growth, indicating that N and P were predominantly distributed to leaves for maintaining leaf function. The photosynthetic rate [mu mole carbon dioxide (CO2) m^-2 LA sec^-1] at light saturation was lower in the sage palm (5.8) and oil palm (10.0) than in wheat(25.4). As leaf longevity of sage and oil palms was longer (about 12 times) than that of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and the minerals concentration and photosynthetic rate remained constant for a long duration of growth, the cumulative carbon (C) accumulation per unit dry weight (photosynthetic rate x leaf longevity) in the individual leaf is assumed to be equal or greater than that of wheat. The photosynthetic ability of sago and oil palms leaves is very important for understanding why sage and oil palms have high productivity in spite of a low nutrient environment.