December 2001. Palau sent a photgraph of marginal chlorosis of chinese cabbage leaves at the Palau Organic Farm. Chinese cabbage is the main crop, and this is a new problem. There has been a lot of rain lately, but this should not be the cause. All the crops are grown in large plastic-roofed screen houses. Recently, the Farm has switched from a compost made largely of local grasses to one based on imported alfalfa hay.

Members thought that it was not a deficiency symptom, but more an excess of salt in the medium as the chlorosis occurs from gutation pores; this occurs when vegetables are grown in shade houses in the tropics. In French Polynesia, the hydroponic research program has come accros this problem on Chinese cabbage, cabbage and lettuce. There is need to check what kind of irrigation water is being used,