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WATER MANAGEMENT FOR HIGHER OIL PALM PRODUCTION ON MINERAL

SOILS

Conference Paper · June 2012

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 WATER MANAGEMENT FOR HIGHER OIL PALM PRODUCTION
ON MINERAL SOILS

Xaviar, A., Vijiandran, J.R. and Naslah Jajuli

United Plantations Berhad

Introduction

Water and fertilizers play an important role for a successful establishment of crops
especially in the tropical region. Availability of water very much influences plant uptake of
nutrients as optimum uptake occur with adequate availability of water. Influencing factors of
water regimes are rainfall pattern, topography and terrain features, soil types and its physical
properties especially parameters influencing drainage and moisture retention.

Rainfall is an important inherent component of climate, that has direct influence on oil
palm growth and yield. Goh et. al. 1994 and Kee, 1995 reported oil palm yields in Malaysia
during the peak years to be contrastingly different for the various rainfall zones. The
estimated peak annual fresh fruit bunch production per hectare of oil palm grown on highly
suitable soils in a region without a dry season exceeded 40 tons FFB ha-1 while in a region of
clear regular dry season was 28 to 33 tons FFB ha-1. Water management is therefore crucial
in oil palm estate management as both too little or excess rainfall has detrimental effects to
oil palm production.

Construction of drainage system in an oil palm plantation serves the dual purpose of
irrigation for maintenance of a suitable field water level and as drainage to remove excess
water especially following periods of heavy rainfall.

Oil palm is cultivated in a wide range of soils. A well aerated soil with adequate
moisture throughout the growth is the preference. Soil types along with terrain has an
important influence in the planning and implementation of water management practices.

This paper draws largely on water management strategies adopted for higher yields in
the estates of United Plantations Berhad.

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Climatic Requirements for High Oil Palm Yields

The ideal climatic conditions for high oil palm yields as evidenced in Malaysia and
Indonesia and reported in publications (Hartley, 1988; Lim et. al. 2008; Goh, 2000; Carr,
2011) is summarized as follows:

• Annual rainfall of at least 2,000 mm with even distribution throughout the year.
• Mean maximum and minimum temperatures should be in the range of 29-33°C and
22-24°C respectively.
• Relative humidity of >85%.
• Sunshine hours averaging 5 h d-1 throughout the year, rising to 7 h d-1 in some
months.

Water Requirements of Oil Palm

Corley and Tinker (2003) defined crop potential evapotranspiration (Ec) as the
amount of water transpired by a specific crop liberally supplied with water. Ling (1979) from
his studies in central Peninsular Malaysia reported evapotranspiration in oil palm to reach up
to 160 mm per month. Slightly lower maximum evapotranspiration of 120-150 mm per
month or 4-5 mm per day was reported by Dufrene (1989). Hence, irrigation requirement to
replace the deficit was calculated to be 5 mm per day equivalent to 350 litres per palm for a
planting density of 143 palms per hectare. Foong (1999) reported Ec values of 3.5 mm
during the monsoon and 10 mm during intense drought for a single irrigated palm. Henson
(1991) reported reduction in spear leaf extension rates and photosynthesis in young palms
with soil water deficits of only 40 mm.

Goh (2000) considered optimum daily evapotranspiration as 5-6 mm. Palat et. al.
(2009) reported highest yield was obtained with irrigation of 450 litres palm-1 d-1 which was
equivalent to 6.4 mm d-1.

Kallarckal et. al. (2004) assessed water use of irrigated oil palm in India.
Transpiration rates varied between 2.0 and 5.5 mm per day or 140 and 385 litres per palm.
Despite irrigation, lower values were obtained in the dry season. Yusop et. al. (2008)
recorded average values of between 1200 to 1300 mm for evapotranspiration (ET) for oil
palm in Johor, Malaysia.

Visible Symptoms of Drought on Oil Palm

Several symptoms are manifested. Among them the most common symptoms are:

i) Occurrence of several unopened spears.

ii) Increased male flower production.
iii) Reduction in leaf production.
iv) Snapping of green leaves.
v) Drying of bunches/bunch abortion/inflorescence abortion.
vi) Premature desiccation of lower leaves.

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 vii) Toppling/bending of canopy.

Drought Impact Assessment on Oil Palm

Maillard et. al. (1974) developed a stress index (SI) as follows:

SI = 10D + 5S1 + 3S2 + 2S3

N

where:- S1: is number of palms with accumulation of 506 spear leaves;

S2: number of palms with 4 to 6 collapsed or broken green leaves
accompanied by drying of fruit bunches;
S3: number of palms with all leaves dried at the base of the crown and
with collapsed foliage in the centre of the crown;
D: number of palms that had died;
N: total number of palms.

Several researchers have used other parameters to quantify moisture stress in oil palm:

• Leaf water potentials (Villalobos et. al. 1992; Kallarck et. al. 2004; Henson et.
al. 1992)
• Leaf: air temperature (Henson, 1991)
• Sap flux rates (Dufrene, 1989; Henson, 1998)

Henson et. al. (2005) found that from the several options available, spear leaf extension rate
and canopy-air temperature difference to be the better practical options in terms of response
sensitivity, ease of detection and measurement.

Water Management Practices

In coastal plantations such as United Plantations, infrastructures facilitating good

water management are crucial to optimal crop performance. Soil type and terrain further
dictates the need of a compatible system. The main objectives of water management
strategies is three fold:

i) To harvest rainfall so as to retain a suitable field water level to ensure the needs of
crop requirements especially during the dry periods.

ii) To drain away standing or ponded or excess water which is not required as
quickly as possible particularly during the wet months to mitigate flood related
problems which pose impedance to the various field operations e.g. harvesting and
evacuation of crop, mechanical spreading of fertilizers, pesticide spray etc.

iii) To prevent the flow of water into the estate from the surrounding areas during the
high rainfall months when the soils are already saturated with water or from the
high tides if adjacent to river systems and to prevent intrusion of saline water.

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The Drainage System

i) Perimeter Bunds

Gurmit (1993) stressed the requirement for perimeter bunds as the first step in the
development of properties along coastal land. The dimension for the bund
construction varies according to soil type, flood water levels and the size of the area to
be developed, with the following guidelines:

Top : 1.2 to 3.0 m wide

Bottom : 4.5 to 10.0 m wide
Height : 0.6 m a bove the highest water level
Equipment : Dragline or hydraulic excavators
Erosion control : Turf with quick spreading grass e.g.
Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass)

Turner and Gillbanks (1974) outlined the basic types and sizes of drains that need to
be constructed during the land preparation phase. The estate drainage system entails
the following:

ii) Ring drains

The ring drain is constructed to run alongside the perimeter bund (anti-flood bund).
The soil (spoil) dug for the construction of the ring drain is used to develop the
perimeter bund. Outlets for the ring drain are provided through the perimeter bund
with suitable water gates. The ring drain facilitates timely removal of excess water
after development has taken place and is also a necessity prior to development of
coastal properties which are usually inundated with water in its natural condition and
needs to be removed before machineries can be brought in for agricultural
development particularly in the peat soils.

iii) The field drainage network

The system comprises field drains, collection drains and main drains in close
coordination with road and railway system. Figure 1 illustrates the system as in
Turner and Gillbanks, 1974.

a) Main drains

The layout of main drains is decided depending on the lay of the land and the
location of water gates. The dimension of the main drain is determined by the
area it needs to serve. It is generally 3-6 m at the top reducing to 1.2 to 1.6 m
at the bottom and having a depth of 1.8 m – 2.7 m (UPB Field Manual; Gurmit
1993). The main drains carry water from a number of collection drains and run
directly to outlets, river, water gates or to the ring drain. Main drains are

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 constructed to run parallel with the main or sub-main roads. Main drains are
spaced 2 km apart.
b) Collection drains

Collection drains are aligned at right angles to the main drains and are spaced
400 – 800 m apart (Gurmit, 1993) or 400 – 600 m apart depending on infield
drains (Rankine and Fairhust, 1999). Turner, 1974 suggested that to maintain a
reasonably uniform water table throughout an area, the drainage run of
collection drains should be limited to approximately 1 km. The dimension for
collection drain varies between 1.8 to 2.7 m at the top reducing to 0.6 to 0.9 m
at the bottom and having a depth of 1.2 to 1.8 m.

c) Field drains

Field drains are constructed to run parallel to the palm rows and drain into the
collection drains which are at right angles to the field drains. Intensity of the
field drains vary with rainfall and soil physical characteristics of the area. At
UPB, in the alluvial soils, field drain are at 1 in 4 palm rows while in the peat
soils it is placed at 1 in 4 to 8 palm rows. Dimension of the field drains are 0.9
m wide at the top, tapering to 0.45 m at the bottom and 1.1 m deep.

outlet
drain
To water gate
field drain field drain field drain

1 km

field drain field drain field drain

sub-main drain

field drain field drain field drain

1 km

8 rows field drain field drain field drain

outlet
drain To water gate
400 m
collection drain

Figure 1: Road and drainage systems for flat or gently undulating land. Each section
(block) is 40 ha.

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Source : Turner and Gillbanks, 1974
Since 1995, UPB has embarked on a cambered field system for all its replants (Figure
2 ). The objective of the cambering system is to facilitate mechanization. In this system, the
intensity of field drains are at 1 for every 4 palm rows with a scupper drain at every 2 palm
rows. The scupper drain is allowed to silt naturally and as the palm reaches maturity, the
scupper drain becomes a remnant.

Figure 3 (Gurmit, 1993) illustrates the drain-road network of UPB. There are basically
two systems currently on the ground. In system A, the road-railway alternates with the
collection drain which is at the rear of the blocks (fields) thereby providing accessibility to
both sides of the block . In contrast, system B provides accessibility to only one side of the
block and requires footbridges for the other side. In this system, the road follows the
collection drain and therefore one side of the field adjoins the road while the other side is
separated by a collection drain. System A is preferred as the road and collection drain
intensity is half of system B and therefore with significantly lower capital and maintenance
cost as well as allowing greater flexibility for mechanization of the various infield operations.

Drainage System for irrigation

During the drier months when there is inadequate rainfall the drainage network can be
utilized for irrigation. At UPB, the estates are bordered within two river systems Sungei
Perak and Sungei Bernam (Figure 4). Depending on the tide and water quality, whenever
possible and needed, water from river outlets strategically located is brought into the estate
by gravitational flow and further pushed in by water pumps. With the drainage network
several fields are irrigated. Yield comparisons between some fields benefiting from irrigation
within river water and between some fields dependent on harvested rain show a yield gain of
2.1 % to 27.6% in cumulative yield.

Weirs

Weirs are essential for the management of water. They should be placed strategically
at collection drains to contain water and to raise water table to the desired level, particularly
in the peat and acid sulphate soils where field water level is desirable to be maintained at
about 50 cm from the soil surface or above the jarosite layer in acid sulphate soils.

Weirs are either made of wood or concrete, with slots for wooden planks to regulate
water level. Complementing permanent structures are temporary form of weirs-often used are
sandbags, which enable water level to be regulated within a field.

The weirs together with water gates at the discharge end of main drains enable
effective water management in the fields.

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 x x x x

F S F

Figure 2 : F = Field drain, S = Scupper drain

Source : Norman et. al. 1996

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 Figure 3 : Drainage and road/railway transport system

Source : Gurmit, 1993

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 Figure 4. Location of UPB estates and adjacent rivers

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Maintenance of Drains

It is important to have properly maintained drains free of weeds and silt sediments
which otherwise would impede or reduce water flow. Plantations normally have several
weeding rounds to check weed growth and a desilting programme as in UPB whereby
alternate drains are desilted annually using machinery such as the rotary ditcher.

Other Management Practices for Soil Moisture Conservation

Irrigation with POME

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is one of the by products from the palm oil mill when
the fresh fruit bunches are processed. It contains appreciable amounts of nutrients. POME
after biodegradation can be used to irrigate fields close to the oil mill. Irrigation with POME
can give a yield increase of 10 to 15% in the coastal clays and 15 to 25% in the less fertile
inland soils (Lim et. al. 1999).

Currently at UPB, approximately 150 hectares are irrigated with POME by the
shallow furrow system in the flat alluvial soils and by the cascading flat bed system in the
sedentary soils.

Pruned fronds

Pruned fronds at each harvesting is recycled within the field. In the flat coastal areas,
the pruned fronds are usually stacked between the palms or in the non-harvesting paths. On
the hills it is placed along contours to reduce soil erosion. Frond stacks are a good source of
organic matter and nutrients, it improves soil physical properties, amongst them percolation
and retention of moisture. The frond stack locations are also the sites of abundant feeder
roots.

Empty fruit bunches and biomass residues

Empty fruit bunches (EFB) resulting from the processing of fresh fruit bunches
applied at adequate rates besides being a source of nutrients, improves soil moisture content,
increases root development, reduces soil erosion and has a moderating effect on soil
temperature (Singh, G. et. al; 1999) and is particularly useful for immature palms.

Similarly, the biomass residue which is obtained after felling and chipping aged palm
stands in preparation for replanting and that is stacked along the non-harvesting paths or
scupper drain to rot naturally can be retrieved to mulch the replants which would benefit from

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the nutrient release and moisture retention. Additionally, mulching at time of planting reduces
period to maturity (Lim and Chan, 1990).
Cover crops

Establishment of cover crop in all new plantings is a desirable practice. Besides

nitrogen fixation, cover crops reduces markedly weed competition, provides a thick mulch
which is important in preventing surface drying of soils especially on peat, improves water
infiltration and moisture retention and also reduces surface soil erosion.

Terracing

On hills where terracing is required, the terraces are constructed with the terrace
sloping inwards towards the hills to curtail runoff and erosion. Silt pits are also constructed to
trap eroded soils and runoff water.

Yield Increment with Irrigation

Foong (1991) from lysimeter studies obtained yield increases of 41.7% or 10.44 t ha-1
for the first four years of harvest and at the mature stage (13 to 1 years of age) yield
increment was 32.3% or 10.88 t ha-1. Other field studies in Peninsular Malaysia reported
yield increases of 2.5 to 33.1% (Corley and Hong, 1981, Chan, 1979). In West Africa where
the drought is more prolonged and intense, the FFB yield increase was 120 to 200% (IRHO,
1969 and 1973). Yield increases to irrigation has been attributed to improvements in bunch
weight particularly at the immature stage and bunch number at the mature stage. The adverse
effects of drought conditions leading to yield decline are generally observed after a lag period
of about a year or more following the onset of drought depending on the physiological stage
of occurrence (Caliman and Southworth, 1999). Drought occurrence at the floral initiation
stage could cause a crop loss of 1-3% per 100 mm water stress; for drought at the sex
differentiation stage the crop loss was estimated to be 3-4% per 100 mm water stress while
abortion due to drought conditions causes a crop loss of 8-10% per 100 mm water stress
(Table 1). In Southern Thailand where there is prolonged annual dry season of 3-4 months
drip irrigation provided upto 10 t ha-1 yield increment (Palat et. al. 2000; 2009). In progeny
trials in Thailand, Rao et. al. 2009 recorded not only earlier maturity but also early
impressive yields of 18 t FFB ha-1 between harvest years of 4 to 7 with best yielding
progenies at 40 t ffb ha-1. In contrast, unirrigated palms only yielded an average of 22 t FFB
ha-1.

Table 1. An example of the effect of moisture stress on FFB production

Lag period Physiological stage Crop loss/100 mm water stress

33 – 36 Floral initiation 1–3%
19 – 25 Sex differentiation 3–4%
8 –11 Abortion 8 – 10 %
Source: Caliman and Southworth, 1999
Cited in Goh, K.J. 2000

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Situations that Require Special Emphasis on Water Management to Sustain High Yields

i) Acid sulphate soils

Kanapathy K. (1975) termed acid sulphate soils as soils with a pH less than 3.5
determined after drying the soil and using a soil : water ratio of 1:2.5 and with a
sulphur content of 0.1% percent determined as water soluble sulphate. During soil
surveys, the diagnostic field criteria for identification of acid sulphate soils are the
presence of yellow jarosite mottles or coatings. Management of oil palm plantings on
acid sulphate soils was found to be strongly related to the depth of the sulfudic
horizon, the amount of organic matter in the B horizon and the depth at which the
unripe marine clay is encountered. Studies by Toh and Poon (1982) reported that
severe adverse effects on oil palm performance were noted in areas with the acid layer
at 0-60 cm.

Poon and Bloomfield (1977) showed that the creation of anaerobic conditions had
helped in minimizing acidity. These anaerobic conditions could be achieved by
maintaining the water table in these areas above the acidic layer through a well
planned drainage system. Ideally water table should be maintained at 45-60 cm depth
and not exceed 75 cm at any time or there would be a risk of accelerated oxidation on
the pyretic layer during the dry weather (Poon, 1983). The objective of water
management in acid sulphate soils would be to maintain water tables above the 60 cm
at any one time and at the same time provide enough drainage to drain the excess
water during the wet months to prevent flooding. Another important aspect of water
management on acid sulphate soils is to carry out periodic flushing of the drains to
remove the accumulated toxic polyvalent ions such as Al3+ and the extremely acidic
water (Poon, 1983). During the wet season, all water retention mechanisms such as
weirs and watergates are opened to allow flushing and at the tail end of the wet
season, these mechanisms are closed to retain the desired water levels.

ii) Sandy soils

Sandy soils by nature are soils that have low capability of retaining water. Thus, oil
palms in these areas easily suffer from moisture stress in the dry periods and poor
uptake of nutrients. The strategy to be adopted is emphasis on water conservation
rather than drainage. Leguminous cover crop establishment soon after planting or
replanting is vital at the immature phase along with EFB mulching. Sandy textured
soils generally also pose additional problems related to high surface temperatures,
prone to fires low nutrient holding capacity leading to nutritional maladies, erosion if
on a sloping terrain, flooding in the wet season if there is a prevalence of a shallow
spodic layer which is also an impedance to rooting.

Judicious fertilizer application with higher frequency of application is necessary to

sustain reasonably high yield in sandy soils. A detailed soil survey map is useful in
delineating the different soil types so that appropriate management strategies can be
adopted e.g. shallow scupper drains every 4 to 8 row to remove transitional flood

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 waters due to spodic horizon; breaking the cemented shallow spodic horizon in
planting lines.

iii) Low lying areas prone to flooding

Low lying areas usually refers to areas that are flood prone or easily waterlogged after
heavy rains and in many cases they occur along the coasts or adjacent to a river and
are often characterized with a high water table. A series of drainage canals, bunds
pumps and control structures such as gates are required to solve the problem.

Conclusion

Despite high total annual rainfall in the country, good water management practices are
still required for high oil palm yields. Uneven distribution of rainfall within a year, variable
water holding capacity of soils and the high evapotranspiration rate of oil palm requires
strategies to harvest rainfall and retain water through well planned drainage network during
the drier months and to drain off excess water during the heavy rainfall periods.

With recent advances in technology such as the availability of GPS and GIS more
accurate estate maps are reproduceable with overlaid layers such as soil type, drains, roads,
position of weirs and any other relevant features. Remote sensing images can be overlaid to
identify areas, which are waterlogged, and a decision can be made to improve the drainage of
these areas.

Between inflorescence initiation and ripening of fruit the time span is about several
years and more studies are required to relate how moisture stress influences each stage of
inflorescence and fruit development and its impact on yield.

Acknowledgement

The author wish to thank United Plantations Berhad for permission to present this
paper.

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PAPER PRESENTED AT SEMINAR ON WATER MANAGEMENT IN OIL PALM PLANTATIONS AT SABAH

HOTEL, SANDAKAN, 18TH JUNE 2012

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