Chemical Composition of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch and its Decomposition in the Field
In palm oil milling process, a large quantity of stripped or empty fruit bunch (EFB) is produced and have been used for mulching. Research work was mainly on oil palm yield response to EFB application in field trials. Very little data and information were documented regarding EFB decomposition an...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
1998
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/10413/1/FP_1998_3_A.pdf |
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| Summary: | In palm oil milling process, a large quantity of stripped or empty fruit
bunch (EFB) is produced and have been used for mulching. Research work
was mainly on oil palm yield response to EFB application in field trials. Very
little data and information were documented regarding EFB decomposition and
nutrient release and effect on the soil characteristics. Thus, this study was
conducted with the aim of determining the composition of EFBs from different
palm of different ages and investigating EFB decomposition and nutrient release
in the field over a 1 cycle EFB application period. For the EFB composition study, ten EFBs from different ages were taken
for analyses from the Dusun Durian estate in Banting, Selangor Darul Ehsan.
The initial fresh fruit bunches ( FFBs) were chosen from palms of eight, twelve
and eighteen years old ( 10 EFBs from each age group ). The fruitlets were
removed, and the EFBs were analysed for the chemical composition. A batch of
10 FFBs were also taken from the mill ( after processing ) for comparison. The
EFBs were analysed for organic and nutrient composition. A field experiment was
then conducted in the Tanah Merah Estate, Negeri Sembilan for about 11
months to investigate the decomposition process of EFB and nutrient release in a
one application cycle. The treatments involved in this study were (i) Chemical
application (fertiliser) or the control, (ii) EFB application alone, (iii) EFB and
chemical fertiliser application (EFB + fertiliser). The treatments were given just
after planting. Effect of the EFB application on the soil characteristics was also
studied. Six pahns were randomly selected from each treatment plot. The EFB
at a rate of 170 kg/palm, were placed in a circle, around the base of the young
oil palm. Recording of EFB fresh weight and sampling of EFB tissue were done
every 4 weeks for analyses of nutrient contents. Soil samples were taken
collected every 1-2 months for analyses of mineral N and other soil
characteristics. |
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