Genetic variation in nutrient uptake and nutrient use efficiency of oil palm

Observations of the vegetative and reproductive biomass produced annually and the mineral element contents have been conducted on diverse oil palm plant materials tested in a genetic test in Indonesia. The results show that the nutrient uptake (for trunk growth, leaf renewal and bunch export) greatly varies (CV = 10% for N uptake and 17% for K uptake) with the origins of the planting materials considered. For equivalent production, the uptake in nutrients of certain plant material may differ very significantly; for the same level of uptake in nutrients, production can vary significantly. This study supports the hypothesis that the optimal nutrient thresholds are intrinsically linked to the plant material. It assumes that some planting materials have different needs and that a fertilizer regime could be adapted to their specific needs without losses in performance. To confirm these assumptions, the need of implementing specific experimental devices with differentiated fertilization regimes is discussed.