Abstract
Water is a fundamntal requirement for all crops and plays an important role in oil palm yield. The evapotranspiration of mature oil palm is generally assumed to be about 5 mm per day (50000 litres per ha per day). Inefficient water management in times of limites water supply or excess is one of the main yield limiting factors in oil palm. The main objective of this study is to investigate how water management practices using the concept of water balance can be applied to improve yields of oil palms under Malaysian conditions.Effective water management on the clayey coastal falts is mainly the maintenance of the ground water-table to about 50 cm form the soil surface for aas long as possible, especially on acid sulphate soils. Effective and timely water retention practices have increased yield by about 3.0 tonnes FFB per ha per year compaed to an adjacent over-ddraine field of the same age. Where non-saline water sources are available, irrigation has been shown to improve yield significantly. Flood control mesaures during rain seasons, through use of hig h capacity flood pumps and effective bunding, have increased yield by about 5.0 tonnes FFB per ha per annum compatred to a grequently flooded field. Effectve flood control improves labour productivity (especially on harvesting and loose fruit collection) and reduces road and vehicle maintenanance costs. Depending on soil type, terain and amount of rainfall, surface runoff accounts for a significant loss of water from rainfall. Water management on the inland sloping soils is therefore concentrated on the interception of surface runoff. Reduction of evapotranspiration and improvement of soil water holding capacity by incorporation of organic by-products from the oil palm system are also emphasised. Construction of wide conour planting terraces with adequate backslope for water retention and to facilitate mechanisation are being practised in Sime Darby Plantations on slopes more than 3. Under mature palms, surace runoff and erosopm cam sto; pccir amd so; t-pitting coupled with wider spread of pruned fronds have been shown to minise these.Water is a fundamntal requirement for all crops and plays an important role in oil palm yield. The evapotranspiration of mature oil palm is generally assumed to be about 5 mm per day (50000 litres per ha per day). Inefficient water management in times of limites water supply or excess is one of the main yield limiting factors in oil palm. The main objective of this study is to investigate how water management practices using the concept of water balance can be applied to improve yields of oil palms under Malaysian conditions.Effective water management on the clayey coastal falts is mainly the maintenance of the ground water-table to about 50 cm form the soil surface for aas long as possible, especially on acid sulphate soils. Effective and timely water retention practices have increased yield by about 3.0 tonnes FFB per ha per year compaed to an adjacent over-ddraine field of the same age. Where non-saline water sources are available, irrigation has been shown to improve yield significantly. Flood control mesaures during rain seasons, through use of hig h capacity flood pumps and effective bunding, have increased yield by about 5.0 tonnes FFB per ha per annum compatred to a grequently flooded field. Effectve flood control improves labour productivity (especially on harvesting and loose fruit collection) and reduces road and vehicle maintenanance costs. Depending on soil type, terain and amount of rainfall, surface runoff accounts for a significant loss of water from rainfall. Water management on the inland sloping soils is therefore concentrated on the interception of surface runoff. Reduction of evapotranspiration and improvement of soil water holding capacity by incorporation of organic by-products from the oil palm system are also emphasised. Construction of wide conour planting terraces with adequate backslope for water retention and to facilitate mechanisation are being practised in Sime Darby Plantations on slopes more than 3. Under mature palms, surace runoff and erosopm cam sto; pccir amd so; t-pitting coupled with wider spread of pruned fronds have been shown to minise these.