keys for overall Prevention of Pest and Diseases on your oil palm farm
Unlocking the chains of low yield, low profit from the mortality of crops due to poor management of the above-mentioned has been a struggle for 70% of farmers in the business but fortunately for you, it doesn’t have to be that way. So we are going to walk through the stage step by stage, let us start with.
Nursery Stage
There are about 2 diseases that occur in this stage:
1. Anthracnose: This is the most common disease and it’s characterized by black leaf batches which could be found at the center or margins of the leaves. Spray at the 2 leaf stage (6 weeks) with Captan water at 900gm/450litres, with Cuman at 450gm/450 liters of water.
2. Freckle diseases: This is characterized by brown spots surrounded by a yellow-orange halo. To control this, spray with dieldrin.
Nutrient deficiency can cause leaves to turn yellow, if this happens, apply the following:
● Phosphate 14gm per gallon of water per standard tray with potash and muriate of potash at 14gm per week + Magnesium as kieserite i.e. dehydrates at 14gm per gallon of water fortnightly.
● Water after applying these fertilizers so as to wash down all traces of these chemicals from the leaves. This will prevent the leaves from scorching.
Do well to spray insecticide if you notice any insect attack and pest like snails, and grasshoppers can be handpicked. The use of fungicides is also advised when needed.
FERTILIZATION
Nursery stage
1 part of Sulphate of ammonia + 1 part Super phosphate + 1 part Sulphate of potash + 2 parts Magnesium sulfate. Apply as follows:
14gm
per seedling in May (6 weeks after transplanting).
42.5gm per seedling in July and 56gm per seedling in October.
Field stage
Fertilizer application in the form of wood ash or potash will enable the palm
to develop healthy forms and restore yield. A general application of a mixture of 1–1–1–2 of sulfate of ammonia, sulfate of potash, and magnesium sulfate at 700gm, 1400gm and2800gm (1½ lb, 3 lb, and 6 lb) per palm. Apply during the first three years respectively will be of immense advantage.
Before you use any fertilizer, you must consider the soil type, the climate, and the economic constraints (cost of fertilizer).
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
For each hectare of oil palm, which is harvested year-round, the annual production averages 10 tonnes of fruit, which yields 3,000 kg of pericarp oil, and 750 kg of seed kernels, which yield 250 kg of high-quality palm kernel oil as well as 500 kg of kernel meal. The kernel meal is used to feed livestock. Some varieties have even higher productivities which have led to their consideration for producing the vegetable oil needed for biodiesel.
In a hectare of oil palm, you can produce about 7250 liters of palm oil and this could fetch you about 4.3 million nairas yearly.
I recently got 50 cl of kernel oil for a thousand, five hundred Naira (N1500) and I got 4 liters of palm oil for four thousand Naira. (N4000). It is no surprise that the price of foodstuff has steadily been on the increase, so why not take advantage of this excellent opportunity?
I know this seems tough, and you’d only start getting your return on investment after about 5 years.
If you’ve gotten this far in reading about oil palm, that shows you’re truly interested in the cash it has to offer. So here’s a secret! You can always practice intercropping and earn sweet cash every year!
