Pollination Beetle and control

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.

 

 

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Pest and diseases control

Tropical climates with ample sunshine, heat and moisture mean that weeds thrive and may compete with crops for space, water and nutrients, and shade the crop plants, especially when they are young. A large number of annual and perennial weeds infest oil palm plantations. However, if effectively managed, with ‘noxious’ species being removed, many weeds have longer term benefits.A number of insects are potentially damaging to oil palm in various parts of the world including: palm weevils (Rhynchophorus spp.), rhinoceros beetles (Oryctes spp.), weevils (Strategus aloeus, Temnoschoita quadripustulata), leaf-miners (Coelaenomenodera elaeidis, Hispolepis elaeidis, Alurunus humeralis), slug caterpillar (Parasa viridissima), nettle caterpillar (Setora nitens) and bagworms (Cremastophysche pendula, Mahasena corbetti, Metisa plana).Oil palm diseases include: blasts (Pythium splendens, Rhizoctonia lamellifera), freckle (Cercospora elaeidis), anthracnose (Botryodiplodia palmarum, Melanconium elaeidis, Glomerella cingulata), seedling blight (Curvularia eragrostidis), yellow patch and vascular wilt (Fusarium oxysporum), basal trunk rot (Ceratocystis paradoxa, Ganoderma spp., Armillaria mellea); crown disease and fruit rot (Marasmius palmivorus). Spear (bud) rot is caused by the bacterium Erwinia spp., which has been devastating in Central Africa.Other pests include soil nematodes (e.g. Aphelenchus avenae, Helicotylenchus spp., Meloidogyne spp.) which damage roots; and rodents which can eat seedlings and fruit.Integrated pest managementA sustainable approach to crop production relies on protecting the crop by an integrated system of pest management (IPM). There are many examples of how managing species other than the crop, rather than attempting to eliminate them, has benefits in oil palm. For example:Elaeidobius kamerunicus, a weevil introduced into South East Asia in the 1970’s eliminated the need for costly and inefficient hand pollinating, resulting in a sharp increase in oil yieldsOwls are encouraged for rodent controlLeaving less competitive species of weeds provides a habitat for predators of insect pests and helps to prevent soil erosion.Weed management“Paraquat has always given good value, with fast and effective weed control, especially of difficult weeds like ferns, woody shrubs and volunteer oil palm seedlings, even in the rainy season. These days, it is important to use paraquat in Conservation Agriculture to prevent weed succession problems caused by glyphosate.”Professor Gembira Sinuraya, a weed scientist at North Sumatra University who also owns and manages an oil palm and rubber plantation and is involved with the Indonesian Weed Science Society.Paraquat effectively controls volunteer oil palmseedlings which grow as weeds from seeds in fallen fruit.Weed management plays a central role in IPM. Initially, plantation floors are cleared of vegetation, but are usually sown with legume cover crops. Circles around newly planted oil palms are kept weed-free to ensure the successful establishment of the crop. Paths are sprayed-out for access and as the oil palm canopy develops, the cover crop becomes shaded out. This allows a wide range of weed species to invade and broad spectrum non-selective herbicides are used to control these.Intensive use of one particular type of non-selective herbicide, notably glyphosate, has led to changes in plantation weed flora (‘weed succession’) as species more tolerant to that mode of action become more dominant. ‘Soft’ weeds which are easily controlled, and can have some benefits such as helping to minimise soil erosion, are replaced by re-invasion of cleared land by more aggressive ‘noxious’ weeds which reduce crop yields. Apart from having a virtually unique mode of action (shared only by its sister, the desiccant diquat), paraquat only removes the top growth of well established weeds, allowing them to re-grow after 1-2 months. In this way, soft weeds can be controlled but not eliminated.Examples of soft weeds are the prostrate grasses Axonopus spp., Digitaria spp., Ottochloa spp. and Paspalum spp. A controlled presence of soft weeds maintains the balance of the weed flora and prevents weed succession by noxious species simply because bare ground for them to colonise is less available.Noxious weeds include the perennial grass Imperata cylindrica, and the creeping broad-leaved weed Mikania micrantha which aggressively compete with the crop for nutrients and moisture. Other noxious weeds affect spray operations, fertilizer application and harvesting because of the presence of thorns (Mimosa spp.) or dense coverage (Asystasia spp., Ischaemum spp., Pennisetum spp. and Stenochlaena spp.). The ferns Dicranopteris linearis, Lygodium flexuosum and Stenochloena palastris are found in mature shaded areas obstructing harvest. Paraquat is specifically recommended for managing ferns.Extensive field trials and practical experience have shown the advantages of using an integrated approach to weed management by, for example, using two spray rounds of paraquat products followed by one of glyphosate (Lam et al, 1993, Lim et al, 1996, Quah et al, 1997). This program keeps a controlled presence of soft weeds and removes noxious weeds.

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Vertebrate animal

Once oil palm has replaced the immense variety of hundreds of species of trees, vines, shrubs, mosses, and other plants found on every acre of lowland rainforest, most animals can no longer live there. An oil palm plantation is, in effect, a "biological desert." As an industrial plantation crop, oil palm is grown as a monoculture. Most of the other plants found are low-growing ground cover. Without the rainforest's plenteous variety of fruits, nuts, leaves, roots, nectar, bark, shoots, and other plant materials to eat, most animals cannot survive. And, without plenty of plant-eating prey animals such as deer to hunt, carnivores such as tigers cannot survive either. The plantations provide habitat for only 20 percent or less of the previously resident mammals, reptiles, and birds Endangered Rainforest MammalsThe loss of rainforest habitat will swiftly and inevitably lead to the complete disappearance of many unique mammal species. This section presents five animals as examples of the devastation to come: the Sumatran tiger, Sumatran and Bornean orangutans, Asian elephant, and Sumatran rhinoceros. Each of those species is endangered according to the IUCN Red List Moreover, the three eponymous Sumatran species are considered critically endangered - a status largely due to loss of habitat (see figure 5 here below).


Each of the five species discussed here requires connected areas of rainforest to survive. They once flourished in the areas where forests have since been cleared for oil palm - especially the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. On those two islands, 60 percent of rainforest was lost just between 1985 and 1997. The Sumatran orangutan, Bornean orangutan, and Sumatran tiger exist only on the islands of Sumatra or Borneo and nowhere else in the world. The Sumatran rhinoceros has remnant populations on both Sumatra and Borneo, with a small population in Peninsular Malaysia and a few other scattered remnants elsewhere. A significant number of the remaining Asian elephants occur in Sumatra and Borneo ; the species is also found in continental Asian countries.
Sumatran tiger . The Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is one of only five remaining tiger subspecies, reduced from eight by recent extinctions. Sumatran tigers live in rainforest. Adults of both sexes are mainly solitary, except for females with cubs. An adult tiger has its own wide-ranging home territory, about 20 to 30 square miles for a female tiger ; a male tiger's home range may be even larger because his overlaps the ranges of several females.
Tigers feed on prey animals that weigh about 100 to 450 pounds, such as deer and wild pigs, which also live in the rainforest. A single adult tiger eats 40 pounds of meat at a sitting and must kill about 75 large prey a year to survive. To support a tiger population, an area of rainforest habitat must be big enough to support a sufficient population of large prey animals. Population density of Sumatran tigers thus depends on availability of prey. Considering their expansive home ranges, 2,000 to 3,000 square miles of rainforest might be needed for a subpopulation of about 100 tigers. A number of subpopulations, each large enough to be genetically healthy, would be needed to rescue the species from the threat of extinction.


Elephant Killing in Sumatra

In November 2004, six wild elephants were poisoned to death in Sumatra after they encroached on an oil palm plantation. The killing of elephants, as well as of endangered tigers, is not unusual on the island, where illegal logging and farming have shrunk those and other animals' natural habitat and increased their contact with humans . The elephants were found dead in Kepenuhan Tengah, a village in Rokan Hulu, Riau. Five were simply poisoned; the sixth was burned after being poisoned. The corpses were found south of the Libo Forest Block, where the concessions of PT Manday Abadi, PT Rokan Permai Timber, and PT Rokan Timber Corporation operate. Workers on an oil palm plantation admitted sickening the elephants with rat poison. According to the Associated Press story in the Jakarta Post, one worker said, "The wild elephants have become a big problem for us and we had no other choice than to poison them so we could secure the plantation." The animals are believed to be from the already critically small elephant group in Riau, the Rambah Hilir elephant group, whose population of 30 to 35 elephants in 2003 is significantly reduced from its level of 100 to 200 in 1995.

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Plant Integration in palm

Protein Sources

Sources of protein for animal feeds are many and varied, with considerable opportunities for further diversification and substitutions. More research is required on alternative sources before many of the opportunities can be exploited in practice.
Plant Protein Sources

Soybean

Soybean remains the most important and preferred source of high quality vegetable protein for animal feed manufacture. Soybean meal, which is the by-product of oil extraction, has a high crude protein content of 44 to 50 percent and a balanced amino acid composition, complementary to maize meal for feed formulation. A high level of inclusion (30-40 percent) is used in high performance monogastric diets.

A measure of success of this crop is the increase in production of 50 to 60 percent between 1985 and 2000, with most grown in the United States, Brazil and Argentina. Over half of the crop is now, however, genetically modified (GM) mainly for herbicide tolerance. The potential of soybeans for further nutritional quality enhancement was emphasized by Hard and there are prospects for considerable feed benefits, assuming acceptance of GM sources in the marketplace. Currently, Argentina and Brazil are reported to export 60 percent of their production and the USA about 16 percent. The market for non-GM soya seems to be growing and may be increasingly important in the future.

Comments by Hard and others emphasized the potential of soybeans for continuing improvement and possibly wider adaptation to different growing conditions. Chadd and colleagues mentioned the potential of forage soybeans in a European context, in locations where grain soybeans cannot (at present) be economically produced. Further development and exploitation of soybean genetics may prove the most appropriate strategy in some regions, rather than developing other alternative plant protein sources.

In the European Union soybean dominates the protein supply for animal feed and the ban on meat and bone meal has resulted in further imports, reportedly of up to 1.5 million t in 2001.

Other oil meal crops

There are many different potential oil crops in addition to soybean, each with strengths and weaknesses for protein meal supply. Local adaptation to growing conditions and local availability provide distinct advantages for feed production in many developing countries. A continuous supply of protein meal of known quality can be made available, as is the case with palm kernel cake, the by-product of oil palm production (e.g. in Malaysia and Indonesia).

According to Speedy, prospects continue to be good for future oil meal crop production. Global projections show increasing demands for vegetable oils of 2.1 percent per annum for the next 20 years, and a significant increase in demand for oil meals and cakes. Predictions of future land use suggest that the area of oil crops will increase substantially in some developing countries. Oil palm, sunflower and oilseed rape, in addition to soybeans, will dominate and provide much of the future increase. Currently, the major net exporters in the developing world are Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brazil and Argentina, but more oil and protein meal may be retained in future years for their own domestic use.

Oilseed rape is grown extensively in temperate regions (e.g., in Canada and the European Union) and provides good protein meal. Although glucosinolates are present and the lysine content is lower than in soybean, it provides a much higher proportion of sulphur-containing amino acids (cysteine and methionine). Glucosinolates can be removed by breeding and GM types of oilseed rape have been developed. The crop is considered to have a lot of future potential, both for increasing oil content and modifying protein composition.

Chadd and colleagues also recommend more studies on the less well known and little grown oil crops such as niger and jojoba, which reportedly have a high crude protein in the extracted cake.
To what extent such crops as oil palm, coconut, sunflower, sesame, crambe or cotton (seed) can be utilized for meal inclusion in animal feeds depends to a large extent on what price the processor is able to obtain for the extracted oil. With the exception of soybean, the demand for these particular meals is markedly influenced by their vegetable oil price.

This is important for the profitability of intensive livestock enterprises such as poultry production, working on low margins. Protein-rich meal inclusion from oilseed crops currently remains the key; however, to high quality feed supply for intensive enterprise performance.

Legumes

Legumes are a traditional source of plant proteins for animal feed and their production can provide a range of benefits both on farms and for feed manufacturers. The exploitation of soybean is a classic example of successful development and use. Peas, beans and lupins are exploited as grain crops in temperate farming systems and their production for home-grown protein supply is encouraged (and supported) in the European Union to reduce dependency on imported proteins. Each has strengths and weaknesses for quality protein provision. Lupins, for example, can yield high levels of crude protein but produce grain which is often low in lysine and sulphur-containing amino acids.

Chadd and colleagues described work in the tropics and sub-tropics on alternative, better adapted protein sources and reported the benefits of chickpea, cowpea and mungbean for incorporation in poultry diets. The successful exploitation of tropical tree legumes for successful ruminant feeding, in both warmer parts of Australia and sub-Saharan Africa, was also mentioned.

The considerable potential of a wide range of leguminous plants for forage use was highlighted for both temperate and tropical agriculture. The need for much more research, however, was emphasized to provide for more successful practical exploitation. The significance of lucerne, the most widely grown forage, and red clover has been highlighted.

The value of a wide range of tropical legumes was mentioned, in particular Centrosema spp., Stylosanthes spp. and Leucaena spp., and the potential of other tree legume sources is being recognized. Leucaena leucocephala has been most widely commercialized, and can be hedge-cropped both mechanically and manually, or grazed in situ. It is adapted to a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. The presence of mimosine, a toxic amino acid, however, limits its use in non-ruminant diets.

More research is required to determine the value of many of these legumes for the animal feed industry. More agronomic studies are also required to improve performance, combined with economic analyses of the unit costs of the resultant protein. Particular attention will need to be given to protein quality, in addition to protein yield.

Further studies will also need to be undertaken with many of these potential legume sources for anti-nutritional factors and toxins. These are dealt with during processing by such practices as de-hulling, heating or solvent extraction.

Bactris gasipaesKunth

Synonymy: Guilielma gasipaes
Distribution: Amazonian Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Central America
Common names: Peach palm, pejibaye, chonta, pupunha
Conservation status: Unknown in wild; abundant in cultivation

As with many types of fruit native to the Amazon, consumption was restricted to a relatively small geographical area because of the farming practices of the native Indians. Pupunha (Bactris gasipaes) is a multi-stemmed palm tree that can reach up to 20 meters (65 feet) in height. When the tree is an adult, 10 to 15 secondary stems develop, guaranteeing the regeneration of the plant. While not all of these stems produce fruit, they are all used to extract the delicious heart of palm. In the wild, the pupunha bears fruit in large bunches in approximately five years, but this time can be reduced by half under managed growing conditions. The male flowers fall after releasing pollen, while the female flower develops into a small red, yellow or orange fruit, measuring around 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter. The fruit is rich in vitamin A, and has a high protein and starch value. It can be eaten after being cooked in boiling water, but can also be used to produce oil and flour. Animal feed is produced with the remaining parts of the tree and fruit. In the 1970's the pupunha became a focus for research and for intensive farming in various regions of Brazil. In the state of Bahia, the first Brazilian state to commercially cultivate the fruit, the harvesting of the pupunha takes place from November to March each year. This palm is also cultivated throughout much of the rest of South and Central America, and is actually unknown in the wild.

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Palm Oil as Biodiesel

          The Malaysian government is refocusing the use of palm oil to the production of biodiesel to cater to the huge demand from European countries; it has encouraged the building of biodiesel plants. This is due to the higher prices of fuel and increasing demand for alternative sources of energy in the Western world.

The plants will start operating middle of next year and produce 100,000 tonnes of biodiesel annually. Strong demand for biodiesel from Europe as well as Colombia, India, South Korea and Turkey has fueled the industry's growth as more countries seek to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

Malaysia has already begun preparations to change from diesel to bio-fuels by 2008, including drafting legislation that will make the switch mandatory. From 2007, all diesel sold in Malaysia must contain 5% palm oil. Being the world's largest producer of crude palm oil, Malaysia intends to take advantage of the rush to find cleaner fuels.

With the growing emphasis on biodiesels presenting a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels it is important to recognise that these benefits are partly negated when forest is cleared to make room for biodiesel crops such as oil palm. NGOs are now alerting the international arena to the fact that despite millions of hectares of land standing unplanted in Indonesia there is still clearance of tropical hardwood forest for palm oil plantations. Furthermore, as the remaining unprotected lowland forest dwindles, developers are looking to peat swamp for conversion, which causes a draining of the peat, which not only unlocks the carbon in the surface covering of trees, but begins an oxidation process of the carbon in the peat reserve--which can be between 5,000 to 10,000 years worth of carbon locked into the ground. Drained peat is also at very high risk of forest fire, and there is a clear record of fire being used to clear vegetation for palm oil development in Indonesia.

On 23 Nov 2006 Australia's first palm oil based biodiesel plant was opened in Darwin. When fully operational in 2007 this plant should produce 140 million litres of biodiesel annually.

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