Essential Nutrient For Palm Oil

Nutrient uptake is low during the first year but increases steeply between year one and year three (when harvesting commences) and stabilizes around years five to six. Early applications of fertilizer, better planting material, more rigid culling has led to a dramatic increase in early yields in third to sixth years from planting. In regions without any serious drop in rainfall, yields of over 25 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches per hectare have been achieved in the second year of harvesting.

Nitrogen deficiency is usually associated with conditions of water-logging, heavy weed infestation and topsoil erosion. Symptoms are a general paling and stiffening of the pinnae which lose their glossy lustre. Extended deficiency will reduce the number of effective fruit bunches produced as well as the bunch size.

Phosphorous deficient leaves do not show specific symptoms but frond length, bunch size and trunk diameter are all reduced.

Potassium deficiency is very common and is the major yield constraint in sandy or peaty soils. The most frequent symptom is "confluent orange spotting". Pale green spots appear on the pinnae of older leaves; as the deficiency intensifies, the spots turn orange or reddish-orange and dessication sets in, starting from the tips and outer margins of the pinnae. Other symptoms are "orange blotch" and "mid-crown yellowing". In soils having a low water holding capacity (sands and peats) potassium deficiency can lead to a rapid, premature dessication of fronds.

Copper deficiency is common on deep peat soils and occurs also on very sandy soils. It appears initially as whitish yellow mottling of younger fronds. As the deficiency intensifies, yellow, mottled, inter-veinal stripes appear and rusty, brown spots develop on the distal end of leaflets. Affected fronds and leaflets are stunted and leaflets dry up On sandy soils, palms recover rapidly after a basal application of 50 grams of copper sulphate. On peat soils, lasting correction of copper deficiency is difficult, as applied copper sulphate is rendered unavailable. A promising method to correct copper deficiency on peat soil is to mix copper sulphate with clay soil and to form tennis-ball sized “copper mudballs” that are placed around the palm and that provide a slow-release source of available copper.

Healthy, well selected seedlings are a pre-condition for early and sustained high yield. In most cases granular multinutrient compound fertilizers are the preferred nutrient source for seedlings in the nursery. Where sub-soil is used to fill the polybags, extra dressings of Kieserite may be required (10-15 g every 6 to 8 weeks). Where compound fertilizers are not available, equivalent quantities of straight materials should be used.

To maintain good fertilizer response and high yields in older palms (selective) thinning is often necessary.

Transplant Palm Tree from Nursery

Key sign to look for healthy palm tree from nursery is the leaf. A healthy palm tree is dark green color, age will be base on the leaf count, suggested is 8 leaf count, estimate age of the palm is 8 month old.

DXP is new species, it is highly recommended by the government. Check whether the right species you are buying. They should have a certificate issued the authorized.

Young palm tree is plant in a plastic bag, water retention is low, it is important to watering the plant in the morning and evening, before transplant to a permanent location.

To ensure a healthy grow, some of the activities are as follows:-

1. Soften the ground
2. Spread root enrich fertilize
3. Protect baby palm tree (proper fencing)
4. Sufficient fertilize
5. Prevent water logging.

It will take approximately another 30 months or 2.5 years, count from the day of transplant, to a first harvest. Any fruit produce during this period should be remove.

Why remove 1st round mutual fruit from young palm tree?

Any fresh fruit grow in the early stage is small and not economically. Why?

Business people only talk about Profit and Lost account. If the following formula is true, than it is worth to harvest, or otherwise.

(Fresh Fruit Weight / 1000Kg) X Fresh Fruit Price > Transport Cost + Labor Cost

The fresh fruit is approximate a palm size, weight may be range from 2 kilogram to 3 kilogram, as a result, an acre of land may yield less than 50 Kilogram per harvest cycle. Because it is a young tree, the palm oil collector may buy below the market price, you may end waste your own money.

Now a day, a lot of farm outsource everything, so this is the breakdown of their service charge as follows :-

1. Transportation Cost RM15 per tons
2. Harvest Cost RM28 per tons
3. Loading Cost RM22 per tons

To take note, the price may varies from location to location. So, you may end up paying the palm oil collector for their effort! Alternative, remove all fruits that is palm site from the palm tree make more sense. Another reason was make the palm tree grow stronger, so subsequent palm fruit will be bigger than your palm side, as show in the diagram above.

A grow up (5 years old to 10 years old) palm tree a fresh fruit can weight up to 20 kilogram per fruit, to certain extend, some of the fresh fruit may weight 60 kilogram.

Applying Fertilize in Palm tree

A healthy mutual palm tree should have an average 10 to 15 fruits, and several flower for cross pollination. It takes 6 months for a young fruit to mutual. A mutual fruit is bright red color.

Constant Yield = Uncontrollable Factor + Control Factor.

Uncontrollable factor like soil type, sunlight and rain water. Control factor like weed, insect and fertilize.

Apply fertilize in regular basis is very important, that give a continue supply of mineral need to grow. But do take care the weed, the weed absorb certain amount of fertilize available in the ground, so remove the weed around the palm tree in need basis. Remember, if the ground too clean also no so good, because the rain will wash away the top soil from the ground.

For young palm tree, apply compound fertilize that consists of 15-15-15 / 20-10-10 and 12-12-17+MgO+TE alternate once a month, in layman term green and blue respectively, the quantity amount is relative to the age of the plant. 

Suggest start up at 300g per tree per month and gradually increase to 700g per month as the palm tree at the age of 24 months.

Once palm tree start harvest, switch to single element fertilize. The key element needed for the plant are N, P , K, Mg, B and Ca. In the market, it can be sell in following manner:-

• N - Urea 42% N, Amino sulphate 21% N
• P - Egyptian Phosphate (ERP) or  Christmas Island Rock Phosphate (CIRP)
• K - MOP 60%
• MgO - kieserite
• B - Borox

Calcium can be obtain from CIRP.

Key thing to remember:-

1. only apply urea when it is rainy season, otherwise the fertilize will evaporate in exposure of heat.
2. Every palm tree only need 200g per year, apply 100g and twice a year.
3. ERP and CIRP is powder base other are fine granular.
4. When leave turn yellow, it is a sign of Mg deficiency, apply kieserite.
5. Apply 2kg to 3kg of kieserite if the fruit look abnormal.  

The price of single element fertilize fluctuate compare to compound fertilize, 

All fertilize on regular basis, there are people apply once a month, I personally apply every 6 weeks. 1.5kg to 2.4kg depend on the fertilize I used to mix.

Mixed it well and spread round the active root area and normally this active root are found underneath the dry leave area.

Palm Tree Harvest Cycle

Suggest harvest cycle is every 20 +/- days, alternatively follows the schedule below:-

			Yield Per Acre Per Month
Age	Harvest Cycle	Weather Condition	Normal Weather	Rainy Season	Drought Season
2.5 to 3	24 ~ 28 days	N/A	100Kg ~ 300Kg	100Kg ~ 300Kg	100Kg ~ 200Kg
4 to 6	14 ~ 20 days	N/A	200Kg ~ 600Kg	400Kg ~ 800Kg	200Kg ~ 450Kg
7 to 15	12 ~ 16 days	Normal	600Kg ~ 1000Kg	800Kg ~ 1200Kg	400Kg ~ 800Kg
7 to 15	10 ~ 12 days	Rainy day
> 16	10 ~ 12 days	N/A	800Kg ~ 1200Kg	800Kg ~ 1500Kg	600Kg ~ 800Kg

During raining season, excess water will cause the fresh fruit mutual slightly faster then norm. So when

raining season, the yield will be high on initial harvest and yield drop dramatically on the subsequent harvest, because the subsequent fresh fruits are still far from mutuality.

Other factor that impact the harvest cycle will be festive holiday, the key public holiday that oil palm refinery will close in Malaysia are Hari Raya, Christmas/New Year and Chinese New Year, so policy is man define, adjust accordingly to ensure maximum yield and resource optimization.

Further more, the CPO price also play major factor as well. In a calendar year, 365 days, 12 months, and 4 quarter. this is everyone know since primary school, but only few know 4 - 4 - 5, manage this scientific data, harvest cycle will be easy to plan.

Palm Tree

Palm tree is one kind of plant common found in Malaysia estate, and Malaysia is the world second large country export oil palm after Indonesia.

Palm Tree average life span is approximately 25 to 30 years, distance between plant is ranging from 28 feet to 30 feet apart, organized in diagonal way, 60 palm tree per acre land as a guideline. A grow up palm tree leaf can be as long as 25 feet or more, when plant a tree, the distance play a vital role, because it gives the leave maximum expose to sunlight for photosynthesis to take place.

Sky is a limit, palm tree can grow as high as 40 feet height or more, it is very hard to harvest. it is recommend to replant palm tree start from 25 years old onward.