ISBN No.

: 81-87561-35-1

Highest vegetable oil yield (5 tonnes/ha)

Wholesome source of energy in the oil
Hardy crop, low pest and disease incidence
Intercropping in pre-bearing period
No risk of theft of bunches
Provides employment potential
Assured market price
Assured monthly income throughout the year
Provide high returns resulting in uplift of
socio - economic status
Saves precious foreign exchange by substituting
import of edible oil

OIL PALM CULTIVATION

Climatic requirements: Oil palm is a humid crop.
Requires evenly distributed rainfall of 150mm/ month
or 2500-4000mm/annum. Rainfall distribution in India
is not even and adequate. Hence grow oil palm under
assured irrigation conditions by adopting
recommended practices. Crop comes up well
between 29-33 oC max. and 22-24 o C min.
temperatures and with bright sunlight for at least 5
hrs. per day. Humidity of more than 80% is required
to come up well.
Soils: Best-suited soils are moist, well-drained, deep,
loamy alluvial soils, rich in organic matter with good
water permeability. At least one-meter depth of soil
is required. Avoid highly alkaline, highly saline,
waterlogged and coastal sandy soils.
Cultivated variety: Tenera is the ruling hybrid and it
is a cross between thick-shelled Dura and shell less
Pisifera. Tenera has a thin shell, medium to high
mesocarp content and high oil content.
Planting: Best season for planting is June-December
i.e., during monsoon. In case of planting during
summer, adequate irrigation, mulching and growing
cover crops like sun hemp in the basin would help in
avoiding hot winds during summer. 12 -14 months
old healthy seedlings with 1-1.3m height and 13
functional leaves are recommended for planting.
While planting, 143 plants per hectare should be
maintained with a spacing of 9m x 9m x 9m (triangular
planting). Planting should be done in pit size of 60
cm x 60 cm x 60 cm (length, breadth and depth).
Apply 250g Di Ammonium Phosphate or 400g
Single Super Phosphate, 50g Phorate and mix with
the soil at the base of the pit. Immediately after
planting, form basin and give copious irrigation
Irrigation management: Oil palm requires sufficient
irrigation, as it is a fast growing crop with high
productivity and biomass production. Do not grow
oil palm if assured and adequate irrigation facility is
not available. For grown up yielding palms of 3 years
age and above, a minimum of 150 to 200 liters of water
per day is required. However, in older plantations

during hot summer this quantity may be increased

up to 300 lit.
Basin method of irrigation is to be taken up when
irrigation water is not a constraint. Required quantity
of water is to be given at 4-5 days interval. Prepare
irrigation channels in such a way that the individual
palms are connected separately by sub-channel. For
light soils, frequent irrigation with less water to be
given. In heavy soils, irrigation interval can be longer.
Drip or Microjet irrigation method is practiced. If
land is of undulated terrain, drip or micro sprinkler
irrigation can be advantageous. If drip irrigation is
installed, four drippers are to be placed for each palm.
If each dripper discharges 8 liters of water per hour, 5
hr. of irrigation per day is sufficient to discharge 160
lit/day. In case of micro sprinklers (180o or 360o) one
each on either side of the palm can be installed.
Drippers/jets should be periodically checked for
proper discharge. Basins should be adequately
mulched and covered with soil, which will help to
conserve moisture.
Fertilizer management: Oil palm is a gross feeder
and demands a balanced and adequate supply of
macro, secondary and micronutrients for growth and
yield. It is advised to apply fertilizers at every three
months interval.
Fertilizer requirement of oil palm: Four equal split
doses of fertilizers are to be applied starting from
June/July at three month interval. For the newly
planted crop, the first dose of fertilizer needs to be
applied three months after planting. Add 50-100 kg
FYM or 100kg green manure per palm along with the
second dose of fertilizer application. Five kg neem
cake/palm can also be applied. Broadcast the
fertilizers around the clean-weeded basin, about 50
cm away from the palm base and incorporate into the
soil with the help of fork. Irrigate the palms
immediately after fertilizer application.
Basin management: During first year, basins of 1-m
radius, second year 2- m radius, and the third year 3m radius are to be taken around the palm by removing

Nitrogen
Urea

Phosphorous
SSP

Potassium
MOP

Magnesium
Magnesium Sulphate

Boron
Borax

(gms/palm/yr)

(gms/palm/yr)

(gms/palm/yr)

(gms/palm/yr)

(gms/palm/yr)

1st yr

870

1250

670

125

25

2nd yr

1740

2500

1340

250

50

3rd yr onwards

2610

3750

2000

500

100

Age of Oil Palm

the soil from inside so that the soil will not accumulate
at the collar region. Basin area of oil palm represents
its active root zone. Hence it must be kept clean and
weed free to avoid competition for nutrients and
water.
Weeding: Take up regular weeding manually or with
the use of only recommended herbicides. Use
preferably contact herbicides. Glyphosate (750ml/ha/
year or 17.5 ml/basin) is recommended for effective
weed control. Herbicide mixtures of Paraquat with
Atrazine, Monuron and Diuron sprayed on ground,
twice a year can control the weeds, effectively.
Inter-cropping: Oil palm is a wide spaced perennial
crop with a long juvenile period of 3 years. Inter and
intra row space can be used to generate income
during the juvenile phase of the crop. Inter crop
selected should be compatible with the main crop
and should not compete with oil palm for light, water
and nutrients. Any remunerative crop can be grown,
but the most suitable crops are vegetables, banana,
flowers, tobacco, chillies, turmeric, ginger, pineapple
etc. While growing inter crops in mature oil palm
gardens of 8- 12 years age or palms attained a height
of 3 meters, intercrops should be able to grow under
partially shaded conditions and should not compete
with oil palm for water, sunlight and nutrients (eg.
cocoa, pepper, heliconia and ginger lilly).
Do not cut the oil palm fronds. Do not tie oil palm
fronds close to the stem for inter-cropping, which will
reduce photosynthetic activity. Do not plough close
to the palm base, which will cut the absorbing roots
and thereby reduce intake of water and nutrients.
Maximum number of green leaves should be retained
on the palm.
Flowering: Oil palm comes to flowering 14-18
months after planting. It produces both male and
female flowers separately on the same palm. Male and

female phases do occur naturally in consequent

cycles in a palm.
Ablation: Ablation is the removal of male and female
flowers produced in the early stages of plantation. This
enables the plant to gain adequate stem girth, vigour
and develop adequate root system. Flowering starts
from 14th to 18th month after planting. Start ablation
immediately after the appearance of inflorescences
on the palms. They can be removed easily by hand
pulling or using the tool developed at DOPR. Ablation
can be extended up to 2-1/2 to 3 years depending
upon the plant growth and vigour.
Pollination: Oil palm is a highly cross-pollinated crop.
Wind and insects assist pollination, but wind
pollination is not adequate. Effective pollinating
insects like Elaeidobius kamerunicus helps in good
pollination and fruit set. Release of this weevil after
2-1/2 year of planting is advisable. If the plants are
not having good girth and vigour, release the weevils
after 3 years.
Mulching: Mulching of oil palm basins is essential to
conserve moisture as well as to control weeds.
Mulching can be done with dried leaves, male flowers,
coconut husk, empty bunches etc.
Harvesting: While harvesting a stalk length of 5 cm
alone should be left. Harvesting should be done at
10-12 days interval. During rainy season, harvesting
should be done at closer interval of 6-7 days as
ripening is hastened after hot summer. In young
plantations, we get more bunches with less bunch
weight and in adult plantations the bunch weight is
more but the bunch number is less.
Yield:
At yield stabilizing period (4-8 years) : 12t/ha
At yield stabilized period (>8 years)

: 20t/ha

ISBN No. : 81-87561-35-1

HIGHEST OIL PALM YIELD RECORDED BY WOMAN FARMER

Smt. Suma Kumar of Marsi Village, Mysore Dist., Karnataka had planted
0.56 ha of oil palm plantation during 1996. She adopted recommended
practices along with inter row trench formation; mulching the basins with
cut fronds; split application of poultry manure after insitu decomposition;
tank silt application etc.
She got the highest yield of 53.20 t FFB/ha/yr in 2011.

HIGHEST OIL PALM YIELD OBTAINED BY A FARMER BY

ADOPTING MICRO IRRIGATION
Sri Kambhampati Visweshwara Rao of Dammapeta Village, Khammam
Dist., Andhra Pradesh planted oil palm in an area of 2.0 ha during 2002.
He adopted recommended practices including micro irrigation, vermi
compost and mulching around the basins with cut fronds.
He has recorded the highest yield of 40.0 t FFB/ha/yr during 2011.

HIGHEST OIL PALM YIELD OBTAINED BY A FARMER WITH

INDIGENOUS PLANTING MATERIAL
Sri N. Venugopalaswamy of Makkinavarigudem Village, West Godavari
Dist., Andhra Pradesh had planted 2.80 ha of oil palm plantation in 2002.
He adopted planting of Indigenous planting material along with the
recommended practices. He also adopted micro irrigation system,
application of Farm Yard Manure and mulching around the palm basin with
cut oil palm fronds.
He has recorded the highest yield of 42.0 t FFB/ha/yr during 2011.

HIGHEST YIELD RECORDED FROM YOUNG OIL PALM PLANTATION

Sri Purushotham Nadgouda of Kundargi Village, Gokak Taluk, Belgaum
Dist., Karnataka had planted 0.44 ha of Oil Palm during 2007. He adopted
recommended practices along with irrigation in basin method at weekly
interval; mulching the basins with sugar cane trash, soya bean and
groundnut husk; adopted ablation up to 32nd month of the crop.
He obtained the highest oil palm yield of 28 t FFB/ha/yr during fourth year
of the crop in 2011.
Compiled and edited by : Dr. M.V. Prasad, Dr. S. Arulraj and Ms. B. Mounika
Published by: Dr. S. Arulraj, Director, Directorate of Oil Palm Research, PEDAVEGI-534450, West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh.