OIL PALM

INTRODUCTION

The oil palm is a tropical plant that grows in warm climates at altitudes below 500 metres above
sea level.It comes from the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa,which explains its scientific name
(Elaeis guineensis).It have been introduced into South-East Asia in 848, and entered Malaysia in
1870 throughout the Singapore’s Botanical Garden.The large scale plantings started in 1920’s
both in Malaysia and Indonesia.The 3 main regions where it have been cultivated is

 Africa

 South-East Asia

 Latin America

In 1932, Florentino Claes introduced the African oil palm in Colombia and it was grown as a
decorative plant at the Agricultural Station in Palmira (Valle del Cauca). But commercial
cultivation only began in 1945 when the United Fruit Company established a plantation in
the banana growing zone in the Department of Magdalena. During the 14th to 17th centuries
some palm fruits were taken to the Americas and from there to the Far East. The plant
appears to have thrived better in the Far East, thus providing the largest commercial
production of an economic crop far removed from its centre of origin.Then,the major centre
of production is in South East Asia (SEA) with Malaysia and Indonesia together accounting
83%of world palm oil production in 2001. Oil palm production in Malaysia presently
occupies around 3.7 million hectares of which over two million are in Peninsular Malaysia
and the rest in the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.
LITERATURE REVIEW OF OIL PALM

It is generally agreed that the oil palm(Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)is originated from the
equatorial tropical rain forest region of Africa,precisely along the gulf of guinea. It exists in
the wild type and cultivated state. The American oil palm, Elaeis oleifera is native to tropical
Central America and South America. The main belt runs through the southern latitudes of
Cameroon, Côte d‟Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo and into the
equatorial region of Angola and the Congo. Oil palm was first illustrated by Nicholaas
Jacquin in 1763, hence its name, Elaeis guineensis Jacq. During the 14th to 17th centuries
some palm fruits were taken to the Americas and from there to the Far East. The plant
appears to have thrived better in the Far East, thus providing the largest commercial
production of an economic crop far removed from its centre of origin. Oil palms were
introduced to Java (Indonesia) by the Dutch in 1848 (Lötschert and Beese 1983) and to
Malaysia (then British colony of Malaya) in 1910 by Scotsman William Sime and English
banker Henry Darby. The first plantations were mostly established and operated by British
plantation owners, such as Sime Darby and Boustead. The large plantation companies
remained listed in London until the Malaysian government engineered their
"Malaysianisation" throughout the 1960s and 1970s (Stevenson 2006). The cameroon‟s wild
oil palm material contains some interesting genotypes which are present into many
germplasm in the world. According to Hartley (1988), in Cameroon Germans had identified
thin shelled oil palm fruit with high oil content as early as 1902. Later it was known as
Tenera type.

GENERAL MORPHOLOGY&GROWTH

Oil palm is is perennial and cross pollinated plant.It have a large,pinnate-leaved palm having
a solitary columnar stem with short internodes.Oil palm is monoecious plant where male and
female flower occur separately on same palm.

SEED & SEEDLING

Oil palm consists of a shell,or endocarp,and one,two or three kernels.The fibres pass
longitudinally through the shell.Kernel of oil palm consists of hard oily endosperm and
embryo embedded in endospem and opposite on the germ pores.
 STEM,FROND,LEAF&ROOT SYSTEM

Stem acts as a support,vascular & storage organ.It have a early growth where it have a wide
stem base,without intermodal stem elongation.Oil pal has one terminal growing point.There
are almost 50 devoloping leave at terminal point which known as apical meristem.The leaves
are arrange in phyllotaxis. Every year, about 20 to 26 new pinnate leaves are produced and
each mature leaf bears 250 to 300 leafletsThe stem or pseudo-trunk can extend a rate of 30 to
60 cm/year between the ages of 6 to 15 depend on hereditary and environmental factors. It
functions as a supporting, vascular and storage organ. Generally, the height of trees
determines the exploitation times of oil palm plantations. Thus, palm plantations are
exploited up to 25 to 30 years when the trees height is between 12 to 15 meters. The oil palm
has an adventitious root system; with primary roots generally about 6-10 mm in diameter.

POLLINATION

Pollination is necessary for fruits development.Pollination have been done to increase oil
ratio.Two types of pollination have been mainly done(assisted &natural pollination).

OIL PALM FRUIT-TYPE&FORM

FRUIT TYPE

-Nigrescens(black)

-Virescens(green)

-Albescens(white)

FRUIT FORM

-Dura(DD)

-Pisifera(dd)

-Tenera(Dd)