Maximizing the oil palm production in coastal area of Sindh, Pakistan: A perfect blend of synthetic fertilizers and organic manure for post-nursery stage of oil palm

Abstract

The coastline of Pakistan spans over 1046 km and presents a promising opportunity for domestic production of oil palm, thus reducing the reliance on imported edible oils. However, oil palm requires a significant amount of nutrients during its 3 to 4 years maturation period. To address this, a study was conducted in which synthetic fertilizers (NPK) and farmyard manure were strategically integrated and applied to oil palm during the post-nursery stage based on FGVR principles (Felda Global Venture, Malaysia recommendation). Treatments included T₁ (Control), T₂= FGVR (143 g plant^-1 NPK i.e. 10g [1^st month], 14g [2^nd month], 21g [3^rd, 4^th and 5^th months = 63g]; 28g [6^th and 7^th months = 58g]); T₃=NPK 75%<FGVR, T₄=NPK 50%<FGVR, T₅=NPK 25%>FGVR, T₆=NPK 50%>FGVR, T₇=FYM 2 kg + NPK 25%<FGVR and T₈=FYM 2 kg + NPK 50%<FGVR. The study's findings indicated that the application of FYM 2 kg + NPK 25%<FGVR (T7) had the most significant impact on oil palm growth, leading to increases in seedling height, number of leaves per seedling, bole diameter, number of fronds per seedling, frond length, as well as nutrient concentrations and uptakes in the leaves. Moreover, T7 also enhanced physiological characteristics, such as leaf chlorophyll content, leaf area, LAI, and TDM. In terms of varieties, Yangambi PB 14 demonstrated its superiority over the 3-way cross variety in all aspects evaluated. Not only did T7 improve various physiological characteristics of oil palm, such as leaf chlorophyll content, leaf area, LAI, and TDM, but the variety Yangambi PB 14 also demonstrated superiority over the 3-way cross variety across all measured traits. When T7 was combined with Yangambi PB 14, it resulted in the maximum enhancement of all the studied traits during the post-nursery stage of oil palm growth. Based on these findings, it is recommended that FYM 2 kg + NPK 25%<FGV recommendations be used to fertilize oil palm seedlings during the post-nursery stage for optimal results.

Keywords: Integration; NPK; Oil palm; Organic manure and Post-nursery

http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2023.120141