Role of manganese in curing of date palm leaf brittle disease in El-Kharga Oasis, Egypt

Several years ago, a new phenomenon began to appear on the leaves of the ‘Saidy’ date palm in El-Kharga Oasis in southwestern Egypt. This phenomenon was known as a disease of leaf brittle in the date palm. This disease begins with the leaves losing their elasticity and ending with their brittle completely in hand fist, the development of this disease leads to the death of the palm. Chemical analyses were conducted on adult leaflets and soil samples in an infected and non-infected area. Results showed that concentrations of all nutrients in the tissue were at the normal levels in leaves of unhealthy palms, except manganese, which was lower in the unhealthy palms compared with healthy palms. It could be concluded that adding manganese led to avoiding leaf brittle disease and restoration of the vitality of the palm trees.