Table 7: Land/Crop requirements for oil palm cultivation.

Land qualities

S1

 

(100 - 85)

S2

 

(84 - 60)

S3

 

(59 - 40)

N1

 

(39 - 20)

N2

 

(19 - 0)

Climate (c):

 

 

 

 

 

Annual rainfall (mm)

1800 - 2500

1250 - 1799

1000 - 1250

500 - 1000

< 500 > 2500

Mean annual temp (oC)

24 - 33

20 - 22

> 33 < 20

any

Any

Relative humidity (%)

70 - 75

65 - 70

50 - 65

30 - 50

< 30

Topography (t)

 

 

 

 

 

Slope (%)

0 - 3

4 - 8

9 - 16

16 - 45

> 45

Wetness (w):

 

 

 

 

 

Flooding

F0

F1

F2

F3

F4

Drainage

WD

MWD

MD

PD

VPD

Soil physical properties (s):

 

 

 

 

 

Texture

CL, SCL, L

SCL

SCL - LFS

Any

C, Cs,

Structure

blocky

any

any

any

massive, single grain

Depth (cm)

> 100

50 - 100

25 - 49

20 - 25

< 25

Fertility (f):

 

 

 

 

 

Cation exchange capacity (cmolckg-1)

> 10

6 - 10

< 6

any

Any

Base saturation (%)

> 35

< 20

any

any

Any

pH (H2O)

6.5 - 7.0

5.5 - 6.0

< 5.5; > 7.0

< 4; > 7.0

< 4; > 7.0

Organic carbon (gkg-1), 0 -15 cm

> 8

< 8

-

-

-

Available P (mgkg-1)

> 22

13 - 22

7 -13

3 - 7

< 3

Exchangeable K (cmolckg-1)

> 0.5

0.3 - 0.5

0.2 - 0.3

0.1 - 0.2

< 0.1

Exchangeable Mg (cmolckg-1)

2 - 5

1 - 2

< 1

< 1; > 5

Any

Exchangeable Ca (cmolckg-1)

10 - 15

5 - 10

1 - 5

< 1; > 5

Any

F0 = no flooding; F1, 1-2 months flooding in > 10years; F2, not more than 2 - 3 months in 5 years out of 10; F3, 2 - 4 months almost every year; F4, > 4 months in almost every year.

CL = Clay Loam; SCL = Sandy Clay Loam; L = Loam; LFS = Loamy Fine Sand; C = Clay; CS = Clayey Sand

WD = Well Drained; MWD = Moderately Well Drained; MD = Moderately Drained; PD = Poorly Drained; VPD = Very Poorly Drained

P = Phosphorus; K = Potassium; Ca = Calcium; Mg = Magnesium; N = Nitrogen; CEC = Cation Exchange Capacity

Adapted from Ogunkule [14].