INTRODUCTION

Cultivated mainly in the tropics, oil palm tree yields high-quality oil used primarily for cooking in developing
countries. It is also used in food products, detergents, cosmetics and, to a small extent, biofuel. Palm oil is a small
ingredient in the U.S. diet, but more than half of all packaged products Americans consume contain palm oil—it’s
found in lipstick, soaps, detergents and even ice cream.
Palm oil is a very productive crop. It offers a far greater yield at a lower cost of production than other vegetable
oils. Global production of and demand for palm oil is increasing rapidly. Plantations are spreading across Asia,
Africa and Latin America. But such expansion comes at the expense of tropical forests—which form critical
habitats for many endangered species and a lifeline for some human communities

ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION

It is generally agreed that the Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis) originated in the tropical rain forest region of West
Africa. The main belt runs through the southern latitudes of Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria,
Sierra Leone, Togo and into the equatorial region of Angola and the Congo. Processing oil palm fruits for edible oil
has been practiced in Africa for thousands of years, and the oil produced, highly coloured and flavoured, is an
essential ingredient in much of the traditional West African cuisine. The traditional process is simple, but tedious
and inefficient.

During the 14th to 17th centuries some palm fruits were taken to the Americas and from there to the Far East. The
plant appears to have thrived better in the Far East, thus providing the largest commercial production of an
economic crop far removed from its centre of origin.

Palm oil is rich in carotenoids, (pigments found in plants and animals) from which it derives its deep red colour,
and the major component of its glycerides is the saturated fatty acid palmitic; hence it is a viscous semi-solid, even
at tropical ambient, and a solid fat in temperate climates.

Because of its economic importance as an high-yielding source of edible and technical oils, the oil palm is now
grown as a plantation crop in most countries with high rainfall (minimum 1 600 mm/yr) in tropical climates within
10° of the equator.

BOTANY AND DISCRIPTION

The palm bears its fruit in bunches varying in weight from 10 to 40 kg. The individual fruit, ranging from 6 to 20
gm, are made up of an outer skin (the exocarp), a pulp (mesocarp) containing the palm oil in a fibrous matrix; a
central nut consisting of a shell (endocarp); and the kernel, which itself contains an oil, quite different to palm oil,
resembling coconut oil.

The wild oil palm groves of Central and West Africa consists mainly of a thick-shelled variety with a thin
mesocarp, called Dura. Breeding work, particularly crosses between Dura and a shell-less variety (Pisifera), have
led to the development of a hybrid with a much thicker mesocarp and a thinner shell, termed Tenera. All breeding
and planting programs now use this latter type, the fruits of which have a much higher content of palm oil than the
native Dura.

Modern high-yielding varieties developed by breeding programs, under ideal climatic conditions and good
management, are capable of producing in excess of 20 tonnes of bunches/ha/yr, with palm oil in bunch content of
25 percent. This is equivalent to a yield of 5 tonnes oil/ha/yr (excluding the palm kernel oil), which far outstrips any
other source of edible oil.

Ideal composition of palm fruit bunch

Bunch weight

23-27 kg

Fruit/bunch
60-65 %

Oil/bunch

21-23 %

Kernel/bunch

5-7 %

Mesocarp/bunch

44-46 %

Mesocarp/fruit

71-76 %

Kernel/fruit

21-22

Shell/fruit

10-11

SOIL AND CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS/ ECOLOGY

Generally, oil palms can be grown on wide range of soils. However, they thrive best in well-drained deep loamy
moist and alluvial soils rich in organic matter. These trees require at least 1 meter soil depth. Farmers should avoid
highly saline, highly alkaline, coastal sandy and water stagnation soils.

Rainfall, can be considered as the primary factor which limits the potential yield of oil palm. Oil palm is a humid
tropical crop and thrives best in the areas where temperature ranges from 22°C to 24°C (minimum) and 20°C to
33°C (maximum).
It has also been held that a monthly rainfall of 100 to 120 mm should be sufficient for oil palm. This should meet a
potential evapotranspiration of 3.3 to 4 mm per day. However, this is below the optimum of 5 to 6 mm per day for
oil palms under good moisture regime. Under condition of low rainfall the palms will have to exploit the soil water
reserve to maintain maximum photosynthetic rate. Oil palms require a least 5 to 6 hours of bright sunshine per day
and 80% of humidity for optimum growth. This crop requires annual evenly distributed rainfall of 2500 to 4000mm
or 150 to 150mm monthly.

Where good quality and reliable water sources are available, irrigation could help to improve oil palm yields in
areas with several months of water deficits (Chan, 1979, Corley and Hong, 1981 and Lim et al, 1994) However, a
water source with a salinity of more than 4000 umhos/cm is not suitable for irrigating oil palm due to reverse
osmosis.
To optimise their effect, irrigation cycles should be calculated based on the soil water holding capacity and
potential evapotranspiration (PET) of the palms. Over or under irrigation should be avoided. Foong (1991) using a
drainage lysimeter with a single palm reported that the average PET of oil palms was about 4.5 -5.0 mm/day when
immature and about 5.0-5.5 mm/day when mature. These values could reach 6.5-7.7 mm/day during dry seasons.
The PET can also be estimated from soil water content changes measured using neutron scattering and tensiometric
techniques (Lim and Maesschalck, 1979).

CULTIVATION

The propagation of oil palm cultivation is mainly by seeds and seeds are extracted from fruits using depericarper.
Pre-heating of seeds is required for 75 days at 40° temperature due to their high dormancy. Thereafter, seeds should
be soaked in running water and make them to cool down for 4 to 5 days. The seeds starts to germinate in 10 to 12
days and once germinated, sprouts should be transplanted to poly bags.

In nursery raising, the single stage poly bag is a very popular propagation method and in this process, a poly bag
size of 40 35 should be filled with top soil, sand and well rotten manure. Then sprouts should be placed at a depth
of 2.5cm in the center of the poly bag. Regular watering and mulching should be carried for proper growth of
seedling. Use recommended NPK in nursery until they are transferred the field.

Land should be made weed free and a couple of ploughings should be given to get the soil fine tilth stage.
Supplement the field with good organic matter to make the soil rich field. The best season for oil palm planting is
from June to December. However, crops grown during summer should be provided with sufficient irrigation,
mulching and growing cover crops in the tree basin is preferred to avoid hot winds in summer season. Healthy
seedlings of 12 to 15 months age old with at least 1 meter height and 12 to 13 functional leaves are recommended
in the oil palm tree cultivation. In triangular planting method, with a spacing of 9 meter x 9 meter x 9 meters, 143 to
145 oil palm plants can be accommodated in 1 hectare land. Planting should be done in the pits with size of 60cm x
60cm x 60cm.

Mix the soil with 400grams of single super phosphate and 50grams of phorate and apply at base of the pit as soon
as planting is done. Irrigation should be done immediately after the fertilizer is applied at the base of the pit.

Oil palms are a wide spaced perennial trees and inter space can be utilized for intercropping during initial 3 year
period. Thereafter, shade loving crops can be grown. Care should be taken with inter-crops so that it will not
compete with oil palms in terms of water, light and nutrients. The most suitable inter-crops during initial 3 year
period are any vegetables, flower, chillies, banana, tobacco, ginger, turmeric, pineapple. As part of the inter-crop
process, should not cut the oil palm fronds or tie oil palm fronds close to stem. Ploughing close to palm base should
be avoided as it may cut the palm roots. For better yield maximum number of green leaves should be retained.

The crop requires sufficient irrigation as its growth rate is faster and produces high yield and biomass. Farmers are
not to grow this crop in the regions where assured and sufficient irrigation is not available. Each growing plant
requires about 200 litres of water per day. Older plants require little bit more in hot summer season.

HUSBANDRY (CULTURAL PRACTICES)

Leaf pruning
Dead and diseased leaves and all inflorescences should be cut off regularly up to three years after planting. When
the palms are yielding, judicious pruning to retain about 40 leaves on the crown is advocated. It is necessary to
remove some of the leaves while harvesting. In such cases, care should be taken to avoid over pruning. In addition,
all dead and excess leaves should be cut off and crown cleaned at least once in a year, usually during the dry season
Pollination
Oil palm is a cross-pollinated crop. Assisted pollination is done to ensure fertilization of all female flowers.
However, this is not necessary if the pollination weevil Elaedobius kamerunicus is introduced in the plantation.
They congregate and multiply on male inflorescence during flower opening. The weevils also visit the female
flowers and pollinate them effectively.

Weed Control
Regular manual weeding or chemical weeding can be carried out in oil palm cultivation. However, chemical
weeding should be done only with recommended herbicides. For effective control of weeds, Glyphosate of 700-750
ml/ha/year or 17ml/basin should be applied. By spraying herbicide mixtures of Paraquat with Atrazine, Diuron and
Monuron on ground can effectively control the weeds and this operation should be carried out twice a year.

Flowering and Ablation

Oil palm trees start flowering in 14 to 18 months after planting the crop. Oil palm tree produces both male and
female flowers separately on the same palm tree.
The process of removing male and female flowers in early stages of oil palm plantation is called “ablation”.
Ablation is required in oil palm production for the development of stem girth, vigour and string root system.
Flowers should be removed manually or with recommended tool as soon as inflorescences appear on the oil palm
tree. This process can be extended up to 2 to 3 years depending on the tree vigour and growth.

Basin Management
As part of basin management practice in the oil palm cultivation, basins of 1 meter radius, second year 2 meter
radius, and third year 3 meter radius should be made by removing the soil inside so that soil accumulation can be
prevented in the collar region of the palm. For healthy roots, basins should be weed free and clean.

Manures and Fertilizer Application

Oil palms require a balanced and sufficient supply of micro, macro and secondary nutrients for high production of
palm oil. In oil palm cultivation, fertilizers should be applied at every 3 months interval. Starting from the June or
July, 4 equal split doses of fertilizer should be applied at 3 months interval. In case of newly planted trees, first dose
of fertilizer should be applied after 3 months of planting. Farm yard manure of 75 to 100kg or 90 to 100 kg of green
manue and 5 kg neem cake should be added per each oil palm tree along with 2nd dose of fertilizers. These
fertilizers should be applied in the soil with the helf of field fork at least 40 to 50 cm away from the palm base.
Watering should be done after fertilization.

Pest and Disease Control

The following are the common pests and diseases are found in oil palm cultivation;

Rhinoceros beetle
The pest causes severe damage to emerging fronds and spindle. The adult beetle feeds on the softer tissue of the
rachis, resulting in snapping off of the fronds and spears at the feeding sites. Field sanitation and elimination of
breeding sites are essential components of the pest management operation. This pest can be suppressed by using the
virus Baculovirus oryctes
Red palm weevil
This is a major pest of oil palm in India. These weevils lay their eggs at the cut end of petioles or other wounds.
The emerging larvae tunnel into the crown and feed on the growing tissues. Palms infested by red palm weevil start
wilting and leaves show gradually increasing chlorosis and fracture in strong winds. If detected early, treatment of
affected palm with 0.2% solution of endosulfan or 1% carbaryl would save the palms.
Birds
Many birds such as the forest crow and the house crow cause severe damage to oil palm fruit bunches. These birds
feed on the mesocarp of the oil palm fruits. The damage can be minimized by scaring the birds and covering the
ripe bunch with wire net, 150 days after fruit set.
Anthracnose
This disease occurs in the nursery. It is recognized by regular or irregular brown to black leaf blotches surrounded
by yellow haloes, which develop along the margin, centre or tip of the leaves. It causes heavy seedling loss. The
disease can be controlled by spraying mancozeb or captan at the rate of 200 g/100 litres of water. Copper fungicides
should not be used because of the extreme susceptibility of oil palm seedlings to copper burn (scorching).
Spear rot
This is noticed to affect oil palms of all ages. The incidence is less than one per cent. Yellowing starts from tip of
the innermost whorl of leaves. Small lesions occur at the distal portions of spear and rotting extends downwards. As
the disease advances, new leaves become rudimentary and show rotting. General decline in vigour and production
is then noticed. Occurrence of spear rot without yellowing has also been noticed. Distinguishable marginal
yellowing of leaflets and sudden drying of leaves showing yellowing are other symptoms. Rouging of all the
affected palms may be adopted to prevent further spread of the disease. In early stages of the disease, the affected
portions of leaves may be removed and burnt.

Bunch failure
Sparse or no fruit set followed by complete drying or rotting of the affected bunches are the typical symptoms. The
extent of incidence can be up to 20%. This malady is generally attributed to excess pruning, mutual shading, under
pollination, moisture stress and unhygienic conditions. The situation can be improved by assisted pollination as
well as by adopting hygienic measures like removal of infected bunches and dry male inflorescence.

HARVESTING AND PROCESSING

As fruit ripen, they change from black (or green in virescens types) to orange, but have varying degrees of black
cheek color depending on light exposure and cultivar. However, fruit abscission is the best index of bunch ripeness.
First harvest can be taken 3.5 to 4 years after planting. When a few ripe fruits are loose / fall off, the bunch is ready
for harvesting. Processing over-ripe fruits reduces quantity and quality of oil.
A chisel is used for harvesting bunches from young palms. The stalk of the bunch is struck hard with the chisel to
cut off and push the bunch out. When the palms become taller (from 10 year onwards) a harvesting hook has to be
used. When the palms are too tall, it is necessary to climb the palms for harvesting. Each tree must be visited every
10-15 days as bunches ripen throughout the year.

Processing
The oil winning process, in summary, involves the reception of fresh fruit bunches from the plantations, sterilizing
and threshing of the bunches to free the palm fruit, mashing the fruit and pressing out the crude palm oil. The crude
oil is further treated to purify and dry it for storage and export.
Oil extraction is a complex process, carried out by large mills that may process up to 60 tons of fruit per hour, or by
small scale mills in rural villages that produce only about 1 ton of oil in an 8 hour shift.
For mature plantations not exceeding 40 ha, a hand-operated hydraulic press will be enough for extraction of oil. In
the case of large-scale plantations, the hydraulic press will not be economical and as such, mechanically driven oil
mills have to be established. The fruit bunches brought to the factory are first quartered by means of a chisel. They
are then sterilized in steam or boiling water for 30-60 minutes. The objective of this process is to inactivate the fat
splitting enzymes, which are present in the fruit, which may raise the free fatty acid content of the oil and also to
soften the fruits for easy pounding. The sterilized fruits are stripped off from the bunch and then pounded. The
pounded fruit mass is then reheated and squeezed using a hydraulic press. It is then boiled in a clarification drum
where the sludge will deposit and pure oil float over the water. The oil is then drained out.
USES
Palm oil, obtained from the fruits, is used in making soaps, cosmetics, candles, biofuels, and lubricating greases and
in processing tinplate and coating iron plates. Palm kernel oil, from the seeds, is used in manufacturing such edible
products as margarine, ice cream, chocolate confections, cookies, and bread, as well as many pharmaceuticals.

The cake residue after kernel oil is extracted is a cattle feed. The plant is also grown as an ornamental in many
subtropical areas.