The Planter最新文献

{"title":"AMELIORATION OF CARBON FOOTPRINT SENSITIVITY WITHIN THE OIL PALM INDUSTRY: THE CHEMICAL ENGINEER’S PERSPECTIVE","authors":"Jaybalan Tamahrajah, Kiat Seng Qua","doi":"10.56333/tp.2022.013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56333/tp.2022.013","url":null,"abstract":"High valued carbon stocks (HVCS) are established to nullify carbon emissions from the oil palm plantation (ENET,Y,PL,CPO) relative to crude palm oil (CPO) production (tonnes CO2eq per tonne CPO), estimated at an average of 13 tonnes CO2eq per tonne CPO. A yearly total of 19.5 tonnes biomass or 3.55 tonnes of HVCS is required per hectare to offset the emissions. The technological transition of energy generation by conventional diesel to sustainable biomass and biogas utilisation reduced emissions from 0.74 tonne CO2eq to 0.36 tonne CO2eq relative to each tonne of CPO in the palm oil mill. The emissions from the mill are discounted for its closed loop carbon cycle, with near net zero emissions (ENET) registered with respect to all sustainable technologies considered. The emission reduction is met with conditions of 25 years of plantation lifetime. The production of fresh fruit bunches must exceed 25 tonnes yearly per hectare with a minimum CPO production yield of 20 per cent. Furthermore, the use of HVCS shall not exceed 25 tonnes, with CPO and crude palm kernel oil (PKO) used as HVCS within the life cycle assessment (LCA) from the oil palm plantation to the palm oil mill gate. Net zero carbon emissions is approached upon consideration of emitted carbon dioxide returning to the oil palm plantation in the vicinity for assimilation. Keywords: Oil palm industry, palm oil mill, oil palm plantation, net zero emissions, life cycle assessment (LCA).","PeriodicalId":22956,"journal":{"name":"The Planter","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74297797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"OBSERVATION ON THE FRUIT DEVELOPMENT, FRUIT RIPENING AND PREFERENCE OF RATS IN DAMAGING PINEAPPLE MD2 BASED ON HORMONAL FLOWER INDUCED DAYS AND PHENOLOGY","authors":"Ariff Ateed MOHD NOH, Muhammad Idrus Shukor, Muhammad Faiz Othman, Norshafiqah Khalid, Ayman Che Razali, K. H. Then, Mohd Rizuan ZAINAL ABIDIN","doi":"10.56333/tp.2022.012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56333/tp.2022.012","url":null,"abstract":"A study was carried out to determine the preferences of rats in damaging pineapple MD2, based on hormonal induced days. Biologische Bundesantalt, Bundessortenamt and Chemische Industrie (BBCH) coding system, a phenology scale for all flowering plants, was used to describe the vegetative growth stage of MD2 pineapple in this study. The evaluation of MD2 phenology was carried out between 60 and 173 days after hormonal flower induction activity. Rat damage was studied at two growth stages, namely fruit development and fruit ripening of MD2 pineapple. The results showed that MD2 pineapple takes around 72 to 95 days to ripen from fruit development. The pineapple is best to be harvested around 140-145 days after hormonal flower induction activity or at BBCH scale 801-805. At this time, the pineapple turns from light green to yellowish green. Two species of rats, namely Rattus tiomanicus and Rattus argentiventer preferred matured fruits in between BBCH scales 800 to 805. Chemical control through rodenticide baiting campaign for rats needs to be done as early as 70-78 days after hormonal flower induction activity or before the BBCH scale 700 as best control measures. Keywords: Biologische Bundesantalt, Bundessortenamt and Chemische Industrie coding system, pineapple, rat damage.","PeriodicalId":22956,"journal":{"name":"The Planter","volume":"55 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89009769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Climbing Swamp Fern, Stenochlaena palustris (Burm. F.) Bedd. (Blechnaceae) - A Noxious Weed in Oil Palm Estates and Its Management","authors":"Chung GAIT FEE","doi":"10.56333/tp.2022.014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56333/tp.2022.014","url":null,"abstract":"The climbing swamp fern or Stenochlaena palustris, is a fern that has a creeping stem/rhizome which often grows into a vigorous sheet colony over large areas and climbs robustly on palm trunks as an epiphyte. The young shoots or new fronds of this fern are consumed as vegetables by humans. The fern has other usages in local medicine, basket making and a beneficial role in pest management. In a field with thick tall sheet growth of S. palustris, the harvesting, evacuation of fresh fruit bunch (FFB), loose fruit collection and many field operations will be difficult to be carried out efficiently. The luxurious epiphytic growth on palm trunk up into the canopy prevents the sighting and cutting of FFB during harvesting and thus many ripe FFB are left unharvested, which subsequently become over-ripe/ rotten. In both situations, oil palm yield in severely infested fields is badly impacted. In line with the integrated weed management approach, prevention of the establishment of S. palustris is important by early control of isolated colonies or small patches of this noxious weed in the replanting fields, drain sides and on trunk chips. In the control of this serious noxious weed, various measures applied singly or in combination are necessary in line with integrated weed management approach. Over the years, chemical control has been widely practiced in rubber and oil palm plantations. The herbicides including 2,4,5-T, paraquat, DSMA (disodium methyl arsonate), MSMA (monosodium methanearsonate), diuron, sodium chlorate, 2,4-D sodium, 2,4-D amine, imazapyr, glyphosate, glufosinate-ammonium, metsulfuron-methyl, saflufenacil and sulfentrazone (and mixtures) are briefly discussed and reviewed. To mitigate the removal of paraquat, several alternatives have been identified and reported by several researchers. The writer’s recommendations to control S. palustris for mature plantings are: i) sodium chlorate + metsulfuron-methyl at 5.5 kg + 75 g per hectare (or 220 g + 3 g per 18 L water), ii) glyphosate + metsulfuron-methyl at 1.5 L + 75 g per hectare (or 60 ml + 3 g per 18 L water), iii) glufosinate-ammonium at 3.3 L per hectare (or 132 ml per 18 L water). For control of S. palustris in inter-row areas of immature plantings, treatments i) and iii) are recommended. This is to avoid unacceptable phytotoxicity to spear and new fronds of immature palms due to spray drift of glyphosate. For long-term control of S. palustris in pure stand and in inter-row areas, spraying of metsulfuron-methyl at 150 g product per hectare (or 20% product in 6 g per 18 L water) is recommended. For spraying of epiphytic S. palustris and other mixed species of epiphytes, glyphosate + metsulfuron-methyl at 1.5 L + 75 g per hectare (or 60 ml + 3 g per 18 L water) is recommended and the optimum spraying time is after frond pruning operation. Keywords: Stenochlaena palustris, noxious weed, climbing epiphytic weed, oil palm plantations, management, herbicides.","PeriodicalId":22956,"journal":{"name":"The Planter","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78741690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"SHELL Genetic Testing: A Key Enabler of Yield Improvement and Sustainable Palm Oil Production","authors":"Rajinder Singh, N. Kamil, Leslie Cheng-Li Ooi, Eng-Ti Leslie Low, M. O. Abdullah, R. Sambanthamurthi, N. Lakey, Mohamad Arif ABD MANAF, A. Ismail","doi":"10.56333/tp.2022.011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56333/tp.2022.011","url":null,"abstract":"Sustainable production of palm oil can be boosted by the use of appropriate technological tools to improve productivity within existing acreage. The discovery of the SHELL gene and subsequent development of a diagnostic assay to differentiate oil palm’s three fruit forms set the stage for the application of such technological tools by commercial estates prior to planting. The use of DNA-testing can ensure that new planting and re-planting programmes exploit the hybrid vigour expected from selected maternal (dura) and paternal (pisifera) lines. An expanded nationwide survey of more than a million seeds and seedlings not only confirmed the robustness and scalability of SHELL DNA-testing, but more importantly revealed a 12.8 per cent level of undesired planting material across the Malaysian supply chain, which far exceeds that allowed by the national standard. If SHELL testing had been deployed in the past, the value of crude palm oil (CPO) and crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) production in recent years would have increased by $1.63 billion USD in 2021 (or $276/ha/yr), resulting in up to $2.17 billion per year in increased economic activity (or $367/ha/yr), and up to $0.52 billion in additional tax collection by the Malaysian central government (or $88/ha/yr). Compared to the cost of testing of $4 per hectare per year, if testing had been done in the past, each dollar spent on testing would have returned $69.0 in additional production and $91.8 in economic gains. This indicates that the adoption of DNA-testing to manage the oil palm seed and seedling supply chain is necessary if the industry hopes to increase sustainability, productivity, and profitability in the long-term. Keywords: Sustainable palm oil, SHELL DNA testing, non-tenera contamination, seed testing, supply chain quality.","PeriodicalId":22956,"journal":{"name":"The Planter","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75295942","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"USE OF BITUMEN-TREATED FABRIC MULCH DURING FIRST YEAR REPLANTING OF IMMATURE OIL PALMS","authors":"Abdullah Abdul Rahman, J. Nasir, N. Shahbudin","doi":"10.56333/tp.2022.010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56333/tp.2022.010","url":null,"abstract":"The use of empty fruit bunch (EFB) mulching in oil palm replants has for decades been implemented as best practice across the industry. In this study, several trials were initiated to evaluate the effectiveness of bitumen-treated fabric mulch (BFM) as an alternative for EFB mulching on oil palm growth performance in replants. The trial was conducted in Jeleta Bumi Estate, Sabah for 12 months. The treatments evaluated were mulching using BFM with a total quantity of first-year fertiliser applied underneath (T1) and normal EFB mulching with the standard bi-monthly manuring programme (T2). The treatments were arranged using randomised complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. The palms’ rachis length, petiole cross-section, and total fronds were measured 12 months after planting to calculate the relative leaf area (RLA), true leaf area (TLA), and leaf area index (LAI). Leaves from frond number nine were sampled for nutrient analysis. Concurrently, these treatments were replicated at a semi-commercial scale in five estates totalling 466.36 hectares under T1. Generally, there was no significant difference (P>0.05) in all parameters measured for both vegetative performance and leaf nutrients between T1 and T2. Additionally, box plot analysis indicated a uniform growth pattern across treatments from the calculated RLA, TLA, and LAI. Cost-benefit analysis indicated a saving of up to 62 per cent at 12 months after planting. This includes costs of EFB transportation, weeding and manuring rounds. Concomitantly, labour dependency could be further reduced, particularly of interest under current industry labour shortages. Response by users highlighted in reduced road maintenance, minimised rhinoceros beetle damage and lower frond scorching.","PeriodicalId":22956,"journal":{"name":"The Planter","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88585702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"IMPACT OF FERTILISER APPLICATION ON BASAL STEM ROT AND LOWER FROND DESICCATION IN OIL PALMS ESTABLISHED IN PEAT SOIL","authors":"M. Sidhu, Z. Sinuraya, A. Azis, Eny Fitri Rambe, Era Wahyudi, Johnson Situmorang, Y. Samosir","doi":"10.56333/tp.2022.009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56333/tp.2022.009","url":null,"abstract":"For oil palms established in deep peat soils in the Labuhan Batu district, North Sumatra, Ganoderma basal stem rot (BSR) and lower frond desiccation (LFD) are the two main maladies that have a serious impact on their long-term sustainability. Past experiences have shown that solitary control measures are unlikely to be successful in managing these two maladies and a number of integrated control strategies would be a prerequisite for their management. As nutrition is an important factor influencing fungal disease infection in many crops, nutrient manipulation can be considered as a vital component of any integrated disease management (IDM) system. This paper summarises the impact of fertiliser application on the level of BSR and LFD infection in five fertiliser trials, established in the affected areas from 1996-2021. In both trials established on first and second generation oil palms, application of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) elicited a significant and linear increase in BSR infection levels, the higher the dosage, the higher the BSR incidence. In contrast, potassium (K) inputs had the reverse effect and significantly reduced BSR infection in the first trial but not in the second. A significant negative additive interaction between N x P and P x K was also observed in both trials. Increasing the rates of N together with P or P with K, increased BSR infection, with the highest infection levels being recorded at the highest N2P2 and P2K2 rates evaluated. Unlike macronutrients, application of boron (B), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) micronutrient fertilisers did not have any significant impact on BSR incidence. A similar trend was recorded on LFD incidence in both immature and mature second generation oil palms. Application of N and P also elicited a significant and linear increase in LFD and a strong negative and additive interaction effect between N x P and P x K was also observed. As for BSR, impact of K fertiliser was inconsistent, producing no positive or negative effects in immature palms and only significantly reducing LFD levels in two out of the 6 years of evaluation in mature oil palms. Likewise, application of B, Cu and Zn micronutrient fertilisers also had no impact on LFD incidence. Although peat is reported to be low in silica, application of silica fertilisers, even up to a dosage of 6 kg per palm per year produced no positive benefits. The relationship between nutrients and BSR/LFD infection and the physiological and biochemical mechanisms involved, remains unclear. However, it is interesting to note, that in all three NPK trials, the lowest infection rates were consistently recorded in the zero fertiliser plots. A possible hypothesis is that long-term application and concentration of N and P fertilisers in the weeded palm circles (WPC) could have had a negative impact on beneficial soil microbes inhabiting the root rhizosphere and associated with oil palm root protection or inducing systemic resistance in the oil palm. However, mor","PeriodicalId":22956,"journal":{"name":"The Planter","volume":"153 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86933219","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"COMPARISON OF WARFARIN AND BROMADIOLONE BAITS FOR RAT CONTROL IN OIL PALM PLANTATIONS - EXPERIENCES IN THE 1990S","authors":"","doi":"10.56333/tp.2022.008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56333/tp.2022.008","url":null,"abstract":"In rat population studies conducted in an oil palm plantation near Kulai, the 19-, 20- and 21-year-old plantings with low percentage fresh damage of 2-3 per cent had low to high rat population of Rattus rattus diardii (R. r. diardii) ranging from 83-542 rats per hectare. Although, the percentage of fresh damage of rat detected in the tall and older planting palms were low, the rat population on the ground was still high on per hectare basis. When single plot of warfarin and bromadiolone baits were tested to control R. r. diardii in the oil palm plantation near Kulai, three treatments were found to be effective. The treatments were ten rounds of bromadiolone bait (0.005%, 14.5 g) at one bait per palm and 50 per cent application density, five rounds of bromadiolone bait (0.005%, 14.5 g) at five baits per palm and 50 per cent application density, and nine rounds of bromadiolone bait (0.005%, 21 g) at one bait per palm and 50 per cent application density. In labour short situation, five rounds of bromadiolone bait (0.005%, 14.5 g) at five baits per palm and 50 per cent application density may be recommended, bearing in mind a higher material cost will be incurred in such application of multiple baits per palm. In another single plot of warfarin and bromadiolone baits were tested to control Rattus tiomanicus (R. tiomanicus) in an oil palm plantation near Bekok and all the four bromadiolone bait treatments gave good control and recorded no fresh damage in post-baiting assessments. In terms of total bait applied per hectare basis, the best treatment was bromadiolone bait (0.005%, 14.5 g, one bait per palm) at 5.95 kg requiring eight baiting rounds followed by bromadiolone bait (0.005%, 21g, one bait per palm) at 7.71 kg requiring eight baiting rounds per campaign. Baiting with bromadiolone bait (0.005%, 14.5 g, one bait per palm) and 50 per cent application density is recommended for the control of R. r. diardii and R. tiomanicus, especially if the rat population is in high number in oil palm plantations. In plantations facing labour shortage, baiting with bromadiolone bait (0.005%, 14.5 g, five baits per palm) at 50 per cent application density is recommended as the stopgap measure. Once control is achieved, it is recommended to reverse back to standard baiting of one bait per palm in normal routine six-monthly programmes. Keywords: Rats, oil palm plantations, baiting, warfarin, bromadiolone.","PeriodicalId":22956,"journal":{"name":"The Planter","volume":"645 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74738792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"ROOT DISTRIBUTION OF MATURE OIL PALMS IN MINERAL AND PEAT SOILS AND ITS IMPLICATION ON FERTILISER PLACEMENT","authors":"M. Sidhu, Z. Sinuraya, A. Aziz, Era Wahyudi, Y. Samosir, M. Sharma","doi":"10.56333/tp.2022.007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56333/tp.2022.007","url":null,"abstract":"The correct placement of fertilisers is critical, as losses can be very significant especially in regions of high and frequent rainfall, non-terraced slopes, sandy textured soils and peat. To maximise uptake efficiency, fertilisers should be evenly broadcast over the soil surface area that contains the highest density of feeder roots. In order to determine the latter, an investigation was undertaken to ascertain the biomass and distribution of roots of various ages of mature oil palms planted in both mineral and second generation peat soils. Results of the study indicate that if site factors are not limiting, palm age and past fertiliser placement history are two major factors influencing oil palm root development and distribution. In mature well decomposed peat, although roots could be found growing 4 m from palm bole, actual root biomass per unit volume of soil was low. Only 21 per cent of the feeder roots of 8-year-old palms were found growing outside the weeded palm circles (WPC). Even within the latter, approximately 50 per cent were concentrated within a radius of 1 m from the palm bole. The low bulk density and high porosity of peat appears to discourage roots from growing beyond this distance. In mineral soils, there was a consistent and gradual increase in root spread beyond the WPC, with palm age. Feeder root distribution beyond a 2 m radius ranged from as low as 26 per cent in 6-year-old palms planted on terraces to 41 per cent for 8-year-old palms established in non-terraced soils. Only palms older than 10 years of age had root biomass greater than 50 per cent beyond this radius. In all sites, there was an increase in primary and secondary root biomass with soil depth and a linear decrease in feeder root biomass down the soil profile. Soil chemical analysis indicated that apart from palm age, the horizontal and vertical distribution of feeder roots was strongly influenced by soil fertility gradients created by past fertiliser placement history. As fertilisers were previously applied entirely in the WPC for younger palms (<8 years), there was a significant decline in soil fertility with increasing distance from the palm bole and increasing soil depth. The majority of feeder roots were concentrated within the 2 m radius from the palm bole and in the top 20 cm of soil, where nutrient levels were the highest. In older palms (>10 years) where fertilisers had been broadcast over frond heaps in the interpalm spaces and interrows, feeder root biomass was higher outside the WPC, as soil fertility gradients were less apparent. Taking into account the root distribution patterns of oil palm in relation to palm age, specific recommendations on fertiliser placement for oil palm grown on mineral and peat soils are made, so as to improve fertiliser uptake and utilisation.","PeriodicalId":22956,"journal":{"name":"The Planter","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82791326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"EVALUATION OF GROUND SERPENTINE ROCK AND GROUND MAGNESIUM LIMESTONE AS MAGNESIUM SOURCES FOR OIL PALM NURSERY SEEDLINGS","authors":"M. J., NG J Y, M. S, K. O J","doi":"10.56333/tp.2022.006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56333/tp.2022.006","url":null,"abstract":"Treatment of ground magnesium limestone and ground serpentine by boiling in 5 ml of concentrated nitric (HNO3) acid and 10 ml of concentrated hydrochloric (HCl) acid for 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 hours in the laboratory showed mean magnesium oxide (MgO) content of 18.2 and 29.20 per cent, respectively. The experiment for the two sources of magnesium (Mg) was carried out on oil palm nursery seedlings grown in large polybags with coarse river sand as the medium of growth. The rates were 5, 10, 20 and 30 g of MgO, applied in planting holes at the time of transplanting of three-month-old pre-nursery seedlings. Initially, up to four months, the leaf 3 Mg levels were slightly higher in ground serpentine treatment, although the difference in values was statistically not significant when compared to the rest of the treatments. As the age of the seedlings increased, there was a continuous decline in leaf Mg levels for all treatments. At the eighth month, the Mg levels of oil palm leaves grown with ground magnesium limestone were significantly higher than the control treatment with no Mg. The source of Mg had no influence on the vegetative growth of seedlings, as all the treatments including control showed no significant differences for the measured growth parameters. In conclusion, ground serpentinite rock is comparable to ground magnesium limestone as a source of Mg. The rate of 30 g MgO per plant, when placed in the planting hole, is insufficient to meet the oil palm needs after the fourth month of application. Higher rates or different methods of application may be needed and to be studied in subsequent trials.","PeriodicalId":22956,"journal":{"name":"The Planter","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89612501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"ADVANCEMENT IN OIL PALM PLANTING MATERIALS IN THE FUTURE","authors":"R. Nookiah","doi":"10.56333/tp.2022.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56333/tp.2022.005","url":null,"abstract":"The development of shorter planting materials based on MPOB Nigerian population 12 and E.oleifera x E.guineensis inter-specific hybrids is highlighted in this paper. The progeny test results of Nigerian Population 12 with selected Deli duras showed that the DxP oil yield ranges from 8.1-8.5 tonnes per hectare per year. The height increment of DxP is 33-39 cm per year. In comparison, the height increment of Deli x AVROS is about 60 cm per annum. In Colombia where DxP commercial plantations are devastated by bud rot disease, Cinepalma demonstrated that application of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) increased the oil yield of inter-specific hybrids which are tolerant to the disease. It was demonstrated in commercial plantations that applying NAA can produce more than 40 tonnes fresh fruit bunch (FFB) per hectare per year, with an extraction rate of about 27 per cent giving >10 tonnes oleic oil per hectare. The tissue culture labs in Kuala Lumpur-Kepong (KLK) and Asian Agri are also cloning their elite Deli duras and pisiferas to create semi- and bi- seeds. Applied Agricultural Resources (AAR) is the largest semi-clonal seed producer in Malaysia, and produces about 8 million per year and sells the seeds at a premium. A number of plantation companies in Malaysia and Indonesia have initiated programmes to produce Ganoderma tolerant planting material. Companies have adopted an integrated disease management (IDM) approach, covering land preparation, planting tolerant varieties, use bioagents, early detection, and removal of infected materials. Asian Agri AA TOPAZ GT variety, partially tolerant to Ganoderma, has an average oil yield potential of 9.2 tonnes crude palm oil (CPO) per hectare per year. Digitalisation refers to the process of integrating advanced digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, robotics, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), sensors, and communication networks, all connected through Internet of Things (IoT) into farm production system. A major breakthrough was achieved by the oil palm Genome Programme at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), where the identification of the gene controlling Shell has made it possible to identify and differentiate dura, tenera and pisifera at the nursery stage. This led to the first molecular diagnostic assay known as SureSawitTMSHELL, which the breeders can use to identify and isolate dura, tenera and pisifera seedlings from TxT and TxP breeding crosses. The kit can be used for identification of dura and pisifera contaminants in the nursery and more recently at the seed production facility. The planter has an important role to help realise the full potential of planting materials. The planter’s role starts from receipt of germinated seeds to field planting. The planter is assigned to monitor ripeness standard, harvesting, loose fruit collection and managing of workers, all of which are major tasks to ensure productivity. Climate change is real and we have to confront drought and flood","PeriodicalId":22956,"journal":{"name":"The Planter","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89206990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}