El Niño modifies nutrient status in oil palm and helps foliage to recover from yellowing symptoms: new analysis and perspectives

In Ecuador, oil palm plantations from the Quinindé-Quevedo region are subject to El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) with a preponderance of La Niña weather conditions. With more than 2,000 mm, the total annual rainfall is theoretically non-limiting but, with only 1,000 h, the total annual sunshine is well below the 1,800 h minimum recommended. Starting in the 1970s, the frequent occurrence of frond yellowing symptoms in the region became a recurrent worry for growers, convinced that they were facing the expression of a mineral deficiency. In this study, we used experimental results to examine the actual role of mineral nutrition in yellowing manifestation. We described the effects of two El Niño events (1982/1983 and 1997/1998) on climate variables and analysed their putative consequences on palm physiological functioning that could explain the observed foliage recovery. Our analysis led us to conclude that a direct mineral deficiency was not involved, as the soil reserves for the main nutrients were not to blame. We rejected the most frequently proposed hypothesis, whereby yellowing is caused by magnesium deficiency. Our study revealed the key role played by nitrogen, the best indicator of yellowing. Variations in N status appear to be linked to the same factors that determine the symptoms and we opted for the hypothesis of physiological disruption generated by low solar radiation levels under normal conditions. The study also reveals the need to consider specific optimum contents for N and Mg and to adjust fertilizer recommendations to local climate conditions.