When I was a planter in Solomon Islands in the South Pacific I was in charge of several islands of coconut trees and often I was told that at each was a tree of life because every part could be used. The leaves could be made into roofing, the stem for floors, the shell for fuel and the copra could be sold, and of course for the islander his wealth was shown by how many trees he had.
But that was some time ago. Now the oil palm tree has perhaps overtaken the coconut as the pre-eminent tree of life. Its fruits can give two types of oil. The palm oil from the mesocarp goes into our food mainly as cooking oil and the kernel oil is used in many types of confectionery.
Yet the palm tree can yield even more than what it is doing now. In Sarawak the production per hectare is low. There are many ways how the palms can reach their potential and one of them is to apply more fertiliser.
Like any living thing, the palm needs food. Unfortunately in many places it does not get its nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, or magnesium. For this reason there are advisers including from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board who can come and provide recommendations and when they are followed it can make a difference.
A few weeks ago I went to visit the smallholding of Tony Ningkan. It was near Niah and he waited for me and my friends by the junction and we followed on a short drive to where his land was, over a small plank bridge, and a gate and we were under the palms.
I was visiting and advising some estates and nothing would have made me happier than to walk along the rows, and so I was with him to help fill my weekend and see how he looked after his farm that even the MPOB officers were impressed. Certainly some big plantations could learn from him.
Tony was a stout man middle aged and self-confident, a dignified figure, and in a quiet voice he explained how he tended to his palms. He did the weeding on time and used fertilisers regularly. He listed out the types of fertiliser he bought, with the advice of the MPOB officers.
We stood under a tree which had at least 16 bunches. Each bunch would sell at ten ringgit and they would ripen within four months. The palm would keep giving bunches throughout the year. One could work out what he was likely to earn from that tree alone.
But on the whole in Sarawak the production per palm is far lower than the crop I could see there. The figures on record showed the yield in Sarawak among the lowest, with only 15 tonnes per hectare in 2010.
These figures were for plantations, which have organised management. For most smallholders, the figures would be far lower. There were exceptions of course. For example if the palm could produce 16 bunches a year and assuming each bunch was 15 kg, thus for a hectare of 138 trees, the yield could be over 30 tonnes per hectare, or double the performance seen now.
The production of palm oil can go up. “The key is fertiliser,” Tony told me. He would not use the fertilisers other than what the MPOB officers recommended and rightly so, for the fertilisers that worked must have a proven record. The supplier must have details from trial plots to show how it can increase the crop. He bought only from the major suppliers.
With the high prices of palm oil now, more owners should look again at what fertiliser they need. When it is applied the palms would respond fairly quickly in increasing its average bunch weight, the fronds would turn dark green and in about two years’ time the increased production of bunches could be harvested.
Sarawak, like Sabah, is fortunate to have a high rainfall, which gives the palms the moisture they need. Providing the application is done outside the very wet months, most of the fertiliser would get to the trees. Even if the yield increases by half, it would mean there was more income to save or spend.
I have heard complaints that fertilisers are expensive, but yet it could also be said that it was a lost opportunity when fertilisers are not applied. However, some smallholders said they did not have the ready facilities to get the fertiliser, and at a dealer’s price, rather than the price they had to pay at the estate suppliers’ shops.
If so, it can mean an opportunity for some businessmen to provide a distribution service and their businesses can only increase with the expansion of oil palm plantings.
In addition the owners could also ask the mills where they delivered their crops if they could collect the empty fruit bunches. As an organic fertiliser it is also a soil conditioner that will act as compost that keeps the soil cool, and releases micro-nutrients that the palms need. The empty bunches are useful supplements to the main application of fertiliser, which will still have to be bought.
It needs planning for the bags to be delivered, and kept in a safe place and away from sun and rain. When applying fertiliser, the owner should be there. The fertiliser is spread evenly in the circles for young palms, and between the rows for the mature areas.
All the palms should get the same amount, even those at the far end of the rows. Fertiliser application can be boring, dusty and heavy work. But in my view it is a sure way to increase your crops. Spreading fertilisers for the palms is like adding cash to your bank.
However I did not tell Tony that, if I did, then probably all I would get is a rare smile from him.