Best Management Practice for Maximum Economic Yield in Oil Palm (BMP-OP II)

This project was started in 2006 and will continue until 2012 with the main objective of implementing, testing, and refining the Best Management Practice (BMP) concept for yield intensification in order to increase productivity, profitability, and sustainability of palm oil production. BMPs are implemented in five full-size management blocks in six collaborating plantations in Sumatra (North, South) and Kalimantan (West, Central, and East) in existing mature plantings by IPNI and its plantation partners. Results from the BMP implementation are compared to those achieved under standard plantation practices in five reference blocks. At the outset of the research, reference and BMP blocks had similar conditions and performance.

In late 2011, BMP implementation at the six project sites was completed. Yield advantages with BMP were significant at all project sites except one site where current yield is probably close to the site yield potential. Results show the robustness of the BMP concept and its applicability across a wide range of environmental and operating conditions. Bunch yield with BMP averaged 3.4 t/ha (+15%) higher due to more (+9%) and heavier (+6%) bunches. Crop recovery BMPs including a short harvest interval are important for high bunch yield in the short term, while other agronomic BMPs related to canopy and nutrient management are important for sustained or enhanced yield in the longer term. Cost per unit area is higher with BMP, but higher BMP yield improves profitability at the farm gate. In the final year of the project, oil and kernel yields are being estimated. Early indications are that oil extraction rate (OER) with BMP is slightly lower as more frequent harvests result in overall lower number of detached fruits per bunch in the harvested crop. This is not enough to offset the higher bunch yield with BMP harvesting, so oil yield with BMP is still higher. Priorities in 2012 include the full analyses of all data collected. Analyses will be conducted with partner universities in Europe, and possibly Southeast Asia. SEA-03