Abstract

Oil palm is an important economic crop of Thailand. The amount of nutrients in oil palm leaves could be the affecting factor in oil palm production. Proper fertilizer application would increase nutrients in oil palm leaves that increase oil palm production. The objective of this study was to study the relationship between fertilizer and leaf nutrient content and yield in 13-year-old Suratthani 2 oil palm cultivars in the Rangsit soil series. The experiment was conducted in a randomized completely block design with three treatments in three replications. The fertilizer was applied with a 20-8-20 formula at 7.50, 11.25 and 15 kilograms, per plant per year. The data was collected by measuring bunch number and average of bunch yield on 3 months after the last fertilizer application. Yield data was collected every 15 days per harvest cycle. Leaf nutrient measurement was collected at the seventeenth leaf position for analysis by Kjeldahl, Spectrophotometric molybdovnadophosphate, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer and Azomethine – H method. The result showed that the average values of nutrition (N, P, K Ca Mg and B) in leaves were not significant. The fertilizer rate of 7.5, 11.25 and 15 kilograms per plant per year did not significant in the nutrient content of oil palm leaves. In addition, there was no correlation between the nutrients in the leaves and bunch yield.