Irrigation experiences and results in oil palm plantations in Central America
Publicación:
Revista Palmas; Vol. 28 Núm. especial, (2007); 412-418
0121-2923
Revista Palmas; Vol. 28 Núm. especial, (2007); 412-418
0121-2923
Abstract
Oil palm irrigation was first introduced in Central America 15 years ago, driven by low oil production and a lack of uniform production, experiencing peaks and drops, which had a significant incidence in milling processes costs. Consequently, the process became inefficient during the low harvesting period The most successful irrigation system installed was that of mini- sprinklers, which has been designed to provide a full coverage of the irrigated area, given this is the system that adapts the most to the plant's physiology and anatomy under tropical conditions, mainly to its root system that extends 360° around the palm. The experiences include numerical and statistical data of the results obtained in the initial stages and in commercial plots. The following data was found in oil palm irrigation experiments carried out in Honduras: Increase in the number of female flowers versus male flowers, Increase in the number of weevils, Better use of fertilizers, Better yield per tons per hectare per year, an increase of around 10-15 tons, Uniform production throughout the year and Mill optimization. El riego en palma aceitera en Centroamérica se implementó hace 15 años, impulsado por las bajas producciones de aceite y la desuniformidad de producción durante el año, teniendo picos y bajas, lo cual incidía enormemente en los costos del proceso de extracción ya que se instalaron equipos capaces de atender los picos de producción los cuales al no existir vuelven ineficiente el proceso durante la época de baja cosecha. El tipo de sistema de riego instalado con mayor éxito en la región es el riego por aspersión sub-foliar, los cuales son diseñados para tener una cobertura total del área irrigada, ya que es el que más se adapta a la fisiología y anatomía de la planta bajo las condiciones del trópico, especialmente a su distribución radicular la cual se extiende en los 360° alrededor del árbol. Las experiencias incluyen datos numéricos y estadísticos de los resultados obtenidos en las etapas iniciales y en parcelas comerciales. En experimentos realizados en Honduras sobre el riego en palma se encontró: Aumento de la proporción de flores femeninas versus las masculinas, aumento de la población de insectos polinizadores, mayores aprovechamientos los fertilizantes, mayor rendimiento de toneladas por hectárea por año, aproximadamente un aumento de 10-15 toneladas y uniformidad de producción durante todo el año, Optimización de la planta extractora.
Oil palm irrigation was first introduced in Central America 15 years ago, driven by low oil production and a lack of uniform production, experiencing peaks and drops, which had a significant incidence in milling processes costs. Consequently, the process became inefficient during the low harvesting period The most successful irrigation system installed was that of mini- sprinklers, which has been designed to provide a full coverage of the irrigated area, given this is the system that adapts the most to the plant's physiology and anatomy under tropical conditions, mainly to its root system that extends 360° around the palm. The experiences include numerical and statistical data of the results obtained in the initial stages and in commercial plots. The following data was found in oil palm irrigation experiments carried out in Honduras: Increase in the number of female flowers versus male flowers, Increase in the number of weevils, Better use of fertilizers, Better yield per tons per hectare per year, an increase of around 10-15 tons, Uniform production throughout the year and Mill optimization.
Palabras clave:
palma de aceite
elaeis guineensis
métodos de riego
riego por aspersión
América Central
palma de aceite
elaeis guineensis
métodos de riego
riego por aspersión
América Central