Abstract
Volunteer oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) seedlings (VOPs) have recently been reported to be a weed problem in oil palm plantations in Malaysia. Several commonly used herbicides were screened at Melaka, Malaysia, for the control of 2- to 3-month-old VOPs. The most cost-effective treatment was paraquat at 110 ml per 18 litres of water, sprayed completely wet to runoff using a knapsack sprayer. Broadleaf herbicides like metsulfuron-methyl, triclopyr, dicamba and fluroxypyr when sprayed alone at normal general weed control rates exhibited no obvious control of VOPs. Although glyphosate sprayed wet to runoff appeared to damage the growing points of VOPs, it did not control the wild oil palm seedlings. Despite the high cost of control, wet to runoff treatments of glufosinate-ammonium resulted in incomplete browning on VOPs.6 ref.Volunteer oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) seedlings (VOPs) have recently been reported to be a weed problem in oil palm plantations in Malaysia. Several commonly used herbicides were screened at Melaka, Malaysia, for the control of 2- to 3-month-old VOPs. The most cost-effective treatment was paraquat at 110 ml per 18 litres of water, sprayed completely wet to runoff using a knapsack sprayer. Broadleaf herbicides like metsulfuron-methyl, triclopyr, dicamba and fluroxypyr when sprayed alone at normal general weed control rates exhibited no obvious control of VOPs. Although glyphosate sprayed wet to runoff appeared to damage the growing points of VOPs, it did not control the wild oil palm seedlings. Despite the high cost of control, wet to runoff treatments of glufosinate-ammonium resulted in incomplete browning on VOPs.