MPOB News
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Author: mpob_admin
Estimating maintenance respiration of oil palm
Maintenance respiration (MR) is normally the largest fraction of dark respiration in crop plants. MR of mature oil palm is difficult, if not impossible, to measure directly. However, it can be calculated from respiratory coefficients and standing crop biomass components. The derivation of the coefficients is described and examples are given of the MR of […]
The role of leaf area index (LAI) in oil palm
The importance of leaf area index (LAI) in oil palm is highlighted. Factors such as the fractional light interception, conversion efficiency e, effects of age, climate, soil and fertilizer, and carbon balance are also discussed. LAI can be influenced by the number of fronds per palm, area per frond and planting density. Planting at optimal […]
Oil palm root study using the mini-rhizotron technique
The mini-rhizotron technique was used to study oil palm root turnover and longevity. Preliminary data collected over a three-month observation period was not sufficient to determine oil palm root longevity since the total root length was not constant. Root length replacement was high in tertiary roots about 11% more than secondary roots. Root observation has […]
Importance of water use efficiency (WUE) in oil palm productivity
The importance of water use efficiency in crop productivity including oil palm is discussed. Effects of water stress in oil palm e.g. sex ratio and fresh fruit bunch yield are also emphasized. The importance of photosynthesis proses and its limitations are also included. This review also includes carbon partitioning, hormonal effects e.g. absicic acid (ABA) […]
Water defisit and irrigation in oil palm: a review of recent studies and findings
The role of water deficit in oil palm is discussed in this paper. Factors such as evapotranspiration, relative humidity and vapour pressure deficit affect the carbon assimilation process and oil palm growth in general. Various irrigation techniques have been tried to overcome this water deficit and some of the results are discussed. Abstrak: Peranan defisit […]
Performance of the poritex geotextile hose in oil palm irrigation
Drip irrigation is one of the most popular systems that offer several advantages over other irrigation systems. Ample water is slowly applied to the root zone to fully satisfy the crop needs. It is the continuous slow emission of water along a delivery line. A Spanish made irrigation tape called the poritex geotextile hose was […]
Washing performance of some laundry powder detergents in the Malaysian market
Powder detergent manufacturers in Malaysia recommend their customers to use 33 g to 200 g detergents for a wash load of 5 kg clothes. The bulk density of products varied from 0.34 g ml-1 to 1.08 g ml-1. The performance of the detergents at the recommended rates to remove soil from a standard cloth in […]
Evaluation method of continuous process for modified polishing drum
Polishing drum is used in palm oil mills to remove and separate fibre from the nuts. The nuts are subject to a tumbling action in order to loosen any small quantity of adhering fibre. Some modification work has been done on the polishing drum so that the nuts can be graded according to the size […]