THE OIL PALM - AGRICULTURAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PROCESSING

• the oil palm, Elaeis guineensis Jacq is a member of the tribe Cocoideae of the Palmae
• was brought to Malaysia in 1870
• approximately 12 to 15 bunches/palm/year
• palms planted at 138 - 148 palms/ha
• yield of bunches is usually 25 - 32 tonnes/ha/year
• bunch ripens in about 150 days
• palm transplanting to the field at about 12 to 14 months old from germination ; lined and holed at 9.1 or 8.8m triangle giving 138 or 148 palms/ha
• bunch number was fluctuating between 135/ha in the pre-weevil days ; post-weevil, the bunch number/ha dropped to 11o
• bleachability : oil from newly ripe fruit - 0.1R - 0.6Y = good ; oil from rotten fruit stored - 1.6R - 12.0Y = extremely poor

Source - Chan Kok Weng / Diploma in Palm Oil Milling Technology & Management (1997)