Abstract
A total of 70 000 hectares have been dedicated to the cultivation of the interspecific hybrid O × G in Colombia as of 2020. There was a need to introduce what is known as “assisted pollination” for these O × G crops. In 2018, the Colombian Oil Palm Research Center (Cenipalma) released artificial pollination, which consists of applying naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) as a complement to assisted pollination, with the goal of promoting the formation of oil in parthenocarpic fruits. Given the recent introduction of artificial pollination, a research study was proposed with the objective of analyzing the cost-benefit relationship from introducing artificial pollination, both during the cultivation and oil extraction stages. From a methodological point of view, the costs per unit were estimated based on the outcome from plantations in the Colombian Urabá region using two different treatments: the first consists of carrying out assisted pollination during anthesis (applying E. guineensis pollen when the flowers are receptive); the second consists of complementing assisted pollination with NAA application at 7 and 14 days after anthesis. The results indicate that the use of NAA increases net income by 7.7% per hectare of crop. Furthermore, the production costs of a metric ton of palm oil decreases by −9% mainly due to the increase in the oil extraction rate.
Highlights
The cultivation of interspecific hybrids O  G (Elaeis oleifera  Elaeis guineensis) has become a common alternative in Colombian Oil palm production
Assisted pollination consists of the controlled release of pollen from E. guineensis on female inflorescences of O Â G cultivars in anthesis, is necessary in order to guarantee the formation of commercially usable FFB (Sánchez et al, 2011)
In 2018, Cenipalma released the results of artificial pollination in O Â G palms, which consisted of applying naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) to female inflorescences during anthesis and up to 15 days after anthesis
Summary
The cultivation of interspecific hybrids O  G (Elaeis oleifera  Elaeis guineensis) has become a common alternative in Colombian Oil palm production. O  G cultivars need assisted pollination. Assisted pollination consists of the controlled release of pollen from E. guineensis on female inflorescences of O  G cultivars in anthesis, is necessary in order to guarantee the formation of commercially usable FFB (Sánchez et al, 2011). The introduction of assisted pollination requires plantations to have a larger number of workers because of the need to apply pollen to each inflorescence in anthesis (phenological stage 607) (Daza et al, 2020). In 2018, Cenipalma released the results of artificial pollination in O  G palms, which consisted of applying NAA to female inflorescences during anthesis and up to 15 days after anthesis (daa). The experimental results from applying 1200 ppm of NAA in a liquid medium to inflorescences during and after anthesis found that it resulted in the development and filling of fruits, as well as a 15% increase in the number of harvested bunches (Romero et al, 2021)
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