Nur Shuhada Tajudin, Mohamed M. Hanafi, Abu Seman Idris, and Siva Kumar Balasundram

DOI: 10.14456/sjst-psu.2016.4

pp. 23 - 30

Abstract

The basal stem rot (BSR) disease has been reported as the most destructive disease of oil palms in Southeast Asia.
Adequate contents of nutrient in soil and leaf helps improve the plant health and its productivity. This study aims to determine
the spatial variability of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in soil and leaf collected in BSR infected oil palm plantation. The
exchangeable calcium (Ca_ex) and magnesium (Mg_ex) in soil were found low in the study area ranged from 0.03-0.50% and 0.06-
0.35%, respectively. The Ca and Mg content in leaf were also low ranged from 0.09-0.60%, and 0.03-1.87%, respectively. The
Ca_ex
 in soil of both blocks showed a negative significant correlation with the disease at p<0.01. However, only Ca content in
leaves of one study site (Block 2) showed a negative significant correlations with the disease (p<0.05). The generated map
and significant correlations revealed that unbalanced nutrient content occurred in the study area.