Sulfur Nutrition of Oil Palm in Indonesia— The Neglected Macronutrient

摘要

There has been little research on S in oil palm compared with other plant macronutrients. This is because until recently most nutrition research on oil palm was done in Malaysia, where ammonium sulfate [(NH4)2SO4] is the main source of N that, together with organic fertilizer and industrial and other air pollution, ensured adequate S supply. Oil palm requires similar amounts of S and Mg, with the literature putting critical levels of both nutrients in frond #17 at 0.2% (Fairhurst et al., 2005). Out of the several amino acids that make up plant protein, cysteine and methionine contain S, and the ratio of N to S in plant protein often is about 15. Sulfur is an important component of oil synthesis and many oil crops respond strongly to S supply although there are no reports of S responses in oil palm.