Best Management Practice for Maximum Economic Yield in All Growth Stages of Oil Palm

IPNI-2010-SEAP-4

12 Mar 2014

2013 Annual Interpretive Summary


This project was initiated in 2011 with the objectives to implement, test and refine the Best Management Practice (BMP) concept for yield intensification in order to increase productivity, profitability and sustainability of palm oil production in all growth stages including nursery, immature and mature development phases of the crop. The BMPs were implemented by IPNI and its plantation partners in five full-size management blocks in two collaborating plantations in Sumatra (Indonesia) and Sabah (Malaysia), which were re-plantings of existing plantations. Results from the BMP implementation were compared with those achieved under standard plantation practices in the five reference blocks. At the outset of the research, reference and BMP blocks had similar conditions and performance.

In late 2013, due to the sequential planting, land preparation for BMP blocks and reference blocks that started in late 2011 is still ongoing. Transplanting of seedlings from the main nursery to field blocks that started in the second half of 2012 is also ongoing. Currently more than 200 ha have been planted and the remaining area will be planted in 2014. Data compiled from the monitoring of nursery phase is currently being analyzed, and monitoring in the immature palm blocks that were recently planted has started according to plan. Work on the second site in Sumatra started in 2012. Pre-nursery and main nursery for clones and DxP crosses have been set up. Nursery operations are running as planned. In parallel, field preparation has started in selected blocks. Through this process, estates are enabled to identify better ways to implement BMPs for yield intensification, and decisions on larger investments in BMPs are based on practical, commercial-scale evidence. This project is unique in its design as it includes all growth stages of oil palm and proposes monitoring over a period of 8 years.