Application Of Empty Fruit Bunches Research Articles

A Survey on the Usage of Biomass Wastes from Palm Oil Mills on Sustainable Development of Oil Palm Plantations in Sarawak

As one of the world’s largest palm oil producers and exporters, Malaysia is committed to sustainable management of this industry to address the emerging environmental challenges. This descriptive study aims to evaluate the oil palm planters’ opinions regarding the usage of biomass wastes from palm oil mills and its impact on sustainable development of oil palm plantations in Sarawak. 253 planters across Sarawak were approached for their opinions about the usage of empty fruit bunch (EFB), palm oil mill effluent (POME), mesocarp fibre (MF), and palm kernel shell (PKS). This study revealed that the planters had generally higher agreement on the beneficial application of EFB and POME in oil palm plantations. This could be seen from the higher means of agreement rating of 3.64 – 4.22 for EFB and POME, compared with the rating of 3.19 – 3.41 for MF and PKS in the 5-point Likert scale (with 5 being the strongest agreement). Besides, 94.7 percent of the planters’ companies were found to comply with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements where nearly 38 percent carried out the EIA practice twice a year. Therefore high means of agreement were correlated to the compliance of environmental regulations, recording a Likert rating of 3.89 to 4.31. Lastly, the usage of EFB and POME also gained higher Likert scale point of 3.76 to 4.17 against MF and PKS of 3.34 to 3.49 in the evaluation of the impact of sustainability in oil palm plantations. The planters agreed that the usage of EFB and POME has reduced the environmental impact and improved the sustainable development, and its application has been improved and increased by research and development. However the planters were uncertain of the impact of usage of biomass wastes with respect to the contribution to social responsibility and company image in terms of transparency in waste management.

Do the impact of organic residues on soil quality extend beyond the deposition area under oil palm?

Recycling empty fruit bunches (EFBs) in mature oil palm stands usually consists in distributing them over a limited area representing 3%–10% of the plot. The impact of this practice on soil quality, including soil biodiversity, is not well known at the plot scale. We analysed soil physical, chemical, and biological variables. Five zones were defined around the palm tree to assess spatial heterogeneity due to plant cover and application of organic and inorganic fertilisers. Each zone was analysed separately. Our study revealed marked variations in mineral contents around the palm tree, ranging from deficiency to excess or nutrient imbalance in adjacent zones, particularly in available P and K, Mg and pH. Similar variations in macrofauna were observed both in the litter and the soil. Our results demonstrate that the changes caused by plant cover and applications of fertiliser are mainly limited in space, but that earthworm communities move as a function of variations in nutrient availability or stress associated with EFB deposition over time. The Amacher index, adapted to the soil nutrient status for oil palm, indicated that average mineral fertility at the plot scale was rather good. The average density of soil macrofauna and nematofauna was low compared to other tropical ecosystems, but reference data from Indonesia are lacking. Application of EFBs on the harvest path mainly improved the homogeneity of soil quality within the elementary plot around the palm. However these data did not show that recycling EFB stimulates soil fauna communities or carbon sequestration at the plot scale.

Mass loss and release of nutrient from empty fruit bunch of oil palm applied as mulch to newly transplanted oil palm

Applying a mulch of oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFBs) from processing mills to newly transplanted oil palm is widely practiced for sustainable management and recycling of solid waste from the oil palm industry. Thus, it is important to understand the decomposition and mass loss of EFBs and its nutrient release pattern for better fertility management. The present study was conducted in a newly transplanted oil palm field to investigate the mass loss of applied EFBs and nutrient release pattern over a 12-month period. The treatments evaluated in the present study were: (1) chemical fertiliser (CF) application only; (2) EFB application only; and (3) EFB and CF application (EFB+CF). The treatments were applied immediately after transplanting 13-month-old palms. EFBs were applied around the base of the oil palm at a rate of 170 kg palm–1. Results showed that 50% dry weight of EFB and EFB+CF was lost within 90 days of application. The C : N ratio decreased from 82 to 20 after 180 and 172 days in EFB and EFB+CF respectively. The breakdown of lignin in EFBs was found to be significantly accelerated by the introduction of CF. Soil properties were improved by EFB application with an increase in pH, total mineral N and exchangeable K of the top soil. After 317 DAP, the soil organic C content subjected to treatment with EFB only and EFB+CF was significantly higher (i.e. 1.7%) when compared with that subjected to the control treatment (i.e., 1.3%). Total N increased significantly from 0.06% to 0.12% for both EFB treatments.

Production of humic acids from oil palm empty fruit bunch by submerged fermentation with Trichoderma viride: Cellulosic substrates and nitrogen sources

The novelty of this study was to produce humic acids by submerged fermentation of empty fruit bunch (EFB) with Trichoderma viride and to investigate the effects of the cellulosic substrates and the organic sources of nitrogen on the biotechnological production of these acids. The results obtained indicate the potential application of EFB, a waste of oil palm processing, for humic acids production. Because EFB contains cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, fermentations were also performed using these polymers as carbon sources, separately or in combination. After 120 h of fermentation, significant production of humic acids was observed only in cultures containing either EFB or a mixture of the three polymers. Use of either potato peptone or yeast extract as a nitrogen source yielded nearly identical patterns of fungal growth and production of humic acids. The data obtained from microscopic imaging of T. viride growth and sporulation in EFB, coupled with the determined rates of production of humic acids indicated that the production of these acids is related to T. viride sporulation.

Effects of ten year application of empty fruit bunches in an oil palm plantation on soil chemical properties

The oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB), a major waste product of the palm oil mills, were earlier incinerated at the mills and had contributed to air quality problems in Malaysia. This lead to the introduction of the Malaysian Environmental Air Quality Regulation in 1978 which prompted mills to look for alternative management methods in disposal of the EFB. A convenient method is applying the EFB to the oil palm field near the mill for nutrient cycling. A study was conducted to investigate the effects of 10 years of EFB yearly application in an oil palm plantation, as a source of nutrients, on the chemical properties of a well-drained, highly weathered acidic soil, classified as Typic Kandiudult. The experimental plots receiving 3 treatments, i.e. chemical fertilization, without EFB application (CHEM)), application of 150 kg EFB palm−1 year−1 (EFB150) and application of 300 kg EFB palm−1 year−1 (EFB300) with four replications, from 1983 to 1992. The EFB was applied in heaps in the middle of every 4 palms. The cumulative addition of EFB had increased the soil pH by two units with application of EFB300 and a one unit increase with EFB150 in the 0–60 cm soil layer, compared to CHEM. The application of EFB even at the lower rate decreased significantly exchangeable Al contents and the cation exchange capacity increased up to 60 cm soil depth. Overall increases in exchangeable bases were also observed in soils treated with EFB. The increase was more evident in EFB300 compared to EFB150. Organic C in the topsoil increased from 1.49 to 2.50% and 2.73% in EFB150 and EFB300, respectively. There was also an increase in total nitrogen with EFB application but only in the topsoil. An overall analysis of the yield response in the 10 year-period shows that EFB300 resulted in higher fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield than EFB150 and CHEM while the yield of EFB150 was not significantly different from CHEM. This study showed that it is beneficial to dispose the EFB by applying them in the oil palm fields around the mills.

Changes in Some Soil Chemical Properties of Ultisol Applied by Mulch from Empty Fruit Bunches in an Oil Palm Plantation

Changes in Some Soil Chemical Properties of Ultisol Applied by Mulch from Empty Fruit Bunches in an Oil Palm Plantation (D Budianta, AYA Wiralaga, and W Lestari): Objective of this research was to study the effect of empty fruit bunches (EFB) applied as mulching on some soil chemical properties of Ultisol in an Oil Palm Plantation. This field experiment was conducted in PT. Sampoerna Agro Tbk Plantation Mesuji, Ogan Komering Ilir of South Sumatra Province at blocks of 22/A, 23/B, 27/C, 33/, 12/A, 12/B, 24/D, 12/C, 00/C, 24/A, 24/B, 10/B, 02/C, 02/D, 11/C, 11/D, 10/A, 10/C, 11/A, and 24/C. The treatment was EFB dosage which are without EFB (control), 40 Mg ha-1 of EFB applied only once for a year, 80 Mg ha-1 of EFB applied twice for 2 years, 120 Mg EFB/ha applied three times for 3 years, and 160 Mg ha-1 of EFB applied four times for 4 years. The rate of EFB application was 40 Mg ha-1 per year. Every treatment was replicated 4 times, thus total of experiment was 20 units. Soil samples were taken in two differences of deepness which were 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm, respectively. Soil variables observed were soil pH, organic C, cation exchange capacity (CEC), total N, P availability, exchangeable K and Mg, Al and Fe. The results showed that application of EFB had significantly effect on some soil chemical properties such as soil pH and Mg exchangeable Mg for 0-20 cm and total N for 20-40 cm deepness. Meanwhile application of EFB did not have siginificant effects on total organic C, CEC, P-Bray I, exchangeable K, exchangeabile Al and Fe. It was also shown that some soil chemical properties were generally higher in top soil layer than sub soil layer, except for CEC, P and exchangeable Al.