Boron deficiency in oil palm

• Weng Kee Ch’ng, Regional Sales Manager, Southeast Asia, U.S. Borax
• Eduardo Saldanha, Development Specialist, Agriculture, Latin America
• Fabiano Silvestrin, Principal Advisor, Global Market Development Manager, Agriculture, U.S. Borax

Functions and symptoms of boron deficiency in oil palm trees

Boron (B) is the most frequently deficient micronutrient in oil palm cultivation. And, this deficiency is intensified in regions with sandy soils and those subject to high rainfall volumes. Cultivation areas with high productivity and that are normally well supplied with adequate doses of other nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg), have high rates of vegetative growth. These areas also see high boron demands and will require a frequent supply of the micronutrient.

Boron plays important roles in oil palm cultivation, including:

• Structural and metabolic processes, such as structuring cell walls, transporting carbohydrates in phloem vessels, and forming complexes with sugars
• Functions related to floral biology, such as pollen grain germination and pollen tube formation
• Fundamental biological processes that act directly on cluster productivity and consequent oil yield

From a structural point of view, boron is an essential constituent of membranes and plant cell walls, acting directly in the formation of new tissues (meristems) of the aerial part and roots of the oil palm plant. In situations where severe deficiency occurs, there is complete inhibition of the development of new leaves, due to the disintegration of non-expanded leaf primordia.

Palm plants are very sensitive to low concentrations of boron in the soil, and the onset of symptoms occurs very quickly on leaves, roots, and entire plants. Leaves with symptoms of boron deficiency show irregular expansion and malformations. Due to its low mobility in the phloem vessels of these plants, boron deficiency results in the manifestation of symptoms first in young and growing leaves, with the leaflets in the distal section being the most affected.

A more intense green often appears in symptomatic leaves that may also have a wrinkled appearance and shape—showing rigidity and eventually brittleness. Boron deficiency greatly affects reproductive growth because the synthesis of cytokinins—phytohormones that promote cell division—is repressed. The germination of pollen grains associated with poor formation of pollen tubes prevents proper fertilization and embryonic formation.

Boron deficiency increases auxin levels, which can induce increases in the enzyme auxin-oxidase, affecting root formation and loss of apical domain. It can also cause supra-optimal levels of auxins, which can inhibit cell division and increase the enzyme auxin-oxidase in the formation of tertiary and quaternary roots and loss of apical domain. This causes a reduction in the differentiation of lateral roots that do not fully develop, forming clusters of short and thick roots.

These effects on the root system can reduce palm tree uptake of water and other nutrients, which will certainly impact crop productivity. As a way of monitoring adequate levels of boron in the crop, we recommend periodic analysis of the plant tissue, accompanied by assessments of the soil’s nutrient content. In addition, frequent field checks to check for deficiency symptoms in the leaves and roots will be helpful in determining any issues with boron in oil palm.

The most commonly visible symptoms of boron deficiency in oil palm are:

• Little leaves
• Fishbone leaves
• Hook leaves
• Crinkled pinnae
• Blind fronds
• Leaves with white stripes
• Frond shatter

Lack of boron can lead to parthenocarpic fruitlets with no kernel and poor development or with no seed resulting in small fruit. This leads to small fresh fruit bunch (FFB) and significant loss of yield. Lack of boron can also cause significant root growth reduction in oil palm.

Visible boron deficiency symptoms in oil palm

Crinkled leaves

Fishbone leaves

Hook leaves

Round leaves

White striped leaves

Root system development

Fresh fruit bunch with boron deficiency

Parthenocarpic palm oil fruit

Borates in the field

A study conducted in Malaysia demonstrated that the application of 100g of Fertibor® per palm per year clearly increased the production yield of the palms for two different age groups at two different plantations. Fertibor helps to increase the bunch weight per fresh fruit bunch and also the number of bunches per palm per year.

How much boron is enough for oil palm?

Contact a U.S. Borax agricultural expert for more information. 

Additional resources

• Crop guide: Oil palm
• Brochure: Boron in oil palm (PDF)
• Field study: Oil palm in Malaysia
• U.S. Borax agriculture products

References

Gutierrez-Soto, MV; Torres-Acuña, J. 2013. Symptoms associated to boron deficiency in the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) in Costa Rica. Agronomía Mesoamericana. 24(2): 441-449. https://doi.org/10.15517/am.v24i2.12547 

Von Uexkull, HR; Fairhurst, TH. 1991. IPI Bulletin No. 12: Fertilizing for high yield and quality THE OIL PALM. Bern, Switzerland: International Potash Institute. https://www.ipipotash.org/udocs/ipi_bulletin_12_fertilizing_for_high_yield_and_quality_the_oil_palm.pdf 

Viégas IJM; Müller AA editors. 2000. A cultura do dendezeiro na Amazônia brasileira. Belém: Embrapa Amazônia Oriental. http://livimagens.sct.embrapa.br/amostras/00067070.pdf