Nutrient Demand of Oil Palm Hybrids in Tropical America
Nowadays there are several oil palm regions in Latin America with plantings of the OxG material, which is a cross of Elaeis oleifera (American oil palm) with E. guineensis (African oil palm). There are no studies in the agronomy or nutrition of the OxG hybrid. This study tries to evaluate the minimum nutritional requirements for two OxG crosses in Colombia.
IPNI-2010-COL-16
11 Mar 2012
Justification, Objectives and Methodology
Colombia-16
Rationale
Driven by increased oil demand around the world, the oil palm is now one of the crops with the largest increase in planting area. The common planting materials are progenies of the African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). Unfortunately in tropical America these E. guineensis related materials are susceptible to a range of diseases, many of them of large economical importance.
Recently, the cross between E. guineensis and E. oleifera (the American oil palm) produced the ‘OxG’ hybrid which has proved to be an alternative to cope with the prevalent diseases in our region. The OxG hybrids have a completely different plant architecture and bunch formation pattern from the traditional materials. For instance, the OxG has higher yields, whilst lower oil extraction rate and higher oil quality in comparison with traditional African oil palm. It’s anticipated that most plantations in Colombia and Ecuador, at least, will begin the transition to these new plant materials, but still very little is known in general about OxG management.
Objective
We attempt to 1) Understand the nutrient demands of the OxG hybrid oil palm and, 2) Develop the most adequate tools to calibrate the fertilization needed by the crop (e.g foliar critical levels for different nutrients)
Summary of procedures and results
In collaboration with CENIPALMA -the research branch of the Colombian Guild of Palm Growers (FEDEPALMA), IPNI put forward a long term project to study the demand of at least two OxG hybrids in different environments. The full study will cover at least two phases of the crop, namely the nursery stage where the plants grow in plastic bags until transplant (see cover photo), and the immature plant before commercial fruit production. It is expected that both Cenipalma and the partner plantations will carry this study further in the yield phase (IPNI funding for this last phase is not secured at the moment).
The nursery phase initiated in 2010 with two sets of plantlets growing in two locations of Colombia. In each location two parallel studies on the rates of 1) Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K); and 2) the rates of magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and Boron (B) were carried out. Plant growth, nutrient absorption and leaf physiology were evaluated.
After a year in the nursery, the first phase ended, and a second set of plants that were under the same management (that is, they were not part of the first phase experiment) were transplanted in three sites for a study on the effects of N, P, K, Ca and B management. The plants are normally growing at the moment.