Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T16:31:32.214Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

EXCESSIVE USE OF FERTILIZER CAN INCREASE LEACHING PROCESSES AND MODIFY SOIL RESERVES IN TWO ECUADORIAN OIL PALM PLANTATIONS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 June 2016

BERNARD DUBOS ,
DIDIER SNOECK  and
ALBERT FLORI
BERNARD DUBOS*
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Systèmes de pérennes, F-34398, Montpellier, France
DIDIER SNOECK
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Systèmes de pérennes, F-34398, Montpellier, France
ALBERT FLORI
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Systèmes de pérennes, F-34398, Montpellier, France
*
† Corresponding author. Email: bernard.dubos@cirad.fr
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

In the oil palm plantations of Ecuador, two factorial trials (namely CP06 and CP08) were used to assess the effects of N, P and K fertilization on the soil chemical characteristics after 10 years of fertilizer application. The use of ammonia-based fertilizers has resulted in a drop in soil pH, which has reached 1.2 units in one of the two trials. A drop in cation exchange capacity (CEC) was also found, and a loss of exchangeable cations that probably reflected leaching of excess N as nitrates. The use of KCl enriched the soil in K, which contributed to impoverishment in Ca and Mg. In both trials, the highest N and K application rates had no significant effect on yield in comparison with an intermediate fertilization rate; however, their effects on the fertilized soil significantly increased the risk of N and cation leaching towards the deep soil layers. We also compared the effects of the N, P and K factors on soil properties outside the fertilizer application zone. In both trials, the mineral reserves played a major role in meeting the needs of the control palms, which had not been fertilized for 10 years, as no significant yield drop has been observed except in trial CP06 when no KCl was applied. However, uptake of nutrient in the control plots did not lead to significant impoverishment of the soil.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 53 , Issue 2 , April 2017 , pp. 255 - 268
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anuar, A. R., Goh, K. J., Heoh, T. B. and Ahmed, O. H. (2008). Spatial variability of soil inorganic N in a mature oil palm plantation in sabah, Malaysia. American Journal of Applied Sciences 5 (9):1239–1246.Google Scholar
Banabas, M., Turner, M. A., Scotter, D. R. and Nelson, P. N. (2008). Losses of nitrogen fertilizer under oil palm in Papua New Guinea: 1. Water balance, and nitrogen in soil solution and runoff. Australian Journal of Soil Research 46:332–339.Google Scholar
Breure, C. J. and Rosenquist, E. A. (1977). An oil palm fertilizer experiment on volcanic soils in PNG. Oléagineux 32 (7):301–310.Google Scholar
Dubos, B., Alarcon, W. H., Lopez, J. E. and Ollivier, J. (2011). Potassium uptake and storage in oil palm organs: The role of chlorine and the influence of soil characteristics in the Magdalena valley, Colombia. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems. DOI 10.1007/s10705-010-9389-x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dubos, B., Gallardo, C. and Zambrano, J. E. (2013). Comportamiento nutricional de los híbridos interespecíficos Elaeis oleifera x Elaeis guineensis (OxG) en el oriente ecuatoriano y colombiano- XVII Conferencia Internacional Sobre Palma de Aceite y Expopalm 2012. Palmas No Especial 34 (1):337–344.Google Scholar
Dubos, B. and Flori, A. (2014). Persistence of mineral fertility carried over from the first crop cycle in two oil palm plantations in South America. Oil Palm Bulletin 68:8–15.Google Scholar
Fallavier, P. and Olivin, J. (1988). Etude expérimentale de la dynamique du potassium et du magnésium dans quelques sols tropicaux représentatifs des zones de culture du palmier à huile. Oléagineux 43 (3):93–101.Google Scholar
Fairhurst, T. H., Caliman, J. P., Härdter, R. and Witt, C. (2004). Oil Palm: Nutrient Disorders and Nutrient Management. Oil Palm Series 7. 125p. (Ed Potash & Phosphate Institute). Singapore and Cirad, Paris, France: Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada, International Phosphate Institute.Google Scholar
Foster, H. L. (2003). Efficient and sustainable fertilizer use. Proceedings of PIPOC 2003 Food and Technology Conference 24–28 Aug. 2003, Putrajaya Malaysia, 313–315.Google Scholar
Galloway, J. N., Aber, J. D., Erisman, J. W., Seitzinger, S. P., Howarth, R. H., Cowling, E. B. and Cosby, B. J. (2003). The nitrogen cascade. BioScience 53:341–356.Google Scholar
Goh, K. J. and Härdter, R. (2003). General oil palm nutrition. In Oil Palm: Management for Large and Sustainable Yields, 191–229 (Eds Fairhurst, T. and Härdter, R.). Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada, International Phosphate Institute, Singapore.Google Scholar
Goh, K. J., Härdter, R. and Fairhurst, T. (2003). Fertilizing for maximum return. In Oil Palm: Management for Large and Sustainable Yields, 279–306 (Eds Fairhurst, T. and Härdter, R.). Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada, International Phosphate Institute, Singapore.Google Scholar
Goh, K. J. (2004). Fertilizer recommendation systems for oil palm: Estimating the fertilizer rates. In Procedings MOSTA Best Practices Workshops – Agronomy & Crop Management, 235–268 (Eds Chew, P. S. and Tan, Y. P.). Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Oil Scientists and Technologies Association.Google Scholar
Hartemink, A. E. (2006). Assessing soil fertility decline in the tropics using soil chemical data. Advances in Agronomy 89:179–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jourdan, C. and Rey, H. (1996). Architecture racinaire du palmier à huile. Modélisation et simulation. Plantations, Recherche, Développement 3 (5):313–327.Google Scholar
Kee, K. K., Goh, K. J. and Chew, P. S. (1995). Effects of NK fertilizer on soil pH and exchangeable K status on acid soils in an oil palm plantation in Malaysia. Plant-Soil Interactions at Low pH: Principles and Management, 64:809–815. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-011-0221-6_130.Google Scholar
Nelson, P. N., Banabas, M., Scotter, D. R. and Webb, M. J. (2006). Using soil water depletion to measure spatial distribution of root activity in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) plantations. Plant Soil 286 (1–2):109–121 DOI: 10.1007/s11104-006-9030-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, P., Berthelsen, S., Webb, M. and Banabas, M. (2010). Acidification of volcanic ash soils under oil palm in Papua New Guinea: effects of fertiliser type and placement. Proceeding of the 19th World Congress of soil science, Soil Solutions for a Changing World – Brisbane Australia.Google Scholar
Ng, P. H. C., Gan, H. H. and Goh, K. J. (2011). Soil nutrient changes in Ultisols under oil palm in Johor, Malaysia. Journal of Oil Palm & The Environment.Google Scholar
Omoti, U., Attaga, D. O. and Isenmila, A. E. (1983). Leaching losses of nutrients in OP plantations determined by tension lysimeter. Plant and Soil 73:365–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paramananthan, S. (2003). Land selection for oil palm. In Oil Palm: Management for Large and Sustainable Yields, 27–57 (Eds Fairhurst, T. and Härdter, R.). Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada, International Phosphate Institute, Singapore.Google Scholar
PORIM (1994), Environmental Impacts of Oil Palm Plantations in Malaysia, Malaysia: Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia.Google Scholar
Poon, Y. C. (1983). The management of acid sulphate soils - HMPB experience. In Seminar on Acid Sulphate Soils. MSSS, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Google Scholar
Schroth, G., Rodrigues, M. R. L. and D'Angelo, S. A. (2000). Spatial patterns of nitrogen mineralization, fertilizer distribution and roots explain nitrate leaching from mature Amazonian oil palm plantation. Soil Use and Management 16:222–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sumner, M. E. (2009). Land Use, Land Cover and Soil Sciences - Vol. VII Soil Acidification, (Ed. Willy, H.) Verhey - Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (UNESCO-EOLSS, eBook Library).Google Scholar
Tan, N. P., Wong, M. K., Yusufujiang, Y., Arifin, A., Iwasaki, K. and Tanaka, S. (2014). Soil characteristics in an oil palm field, Central Pahang, Malaysia with special reference to micro sites under different managements and slope positions. Tropical Agriculture and Development 58 (4):146–154.Google Scholar
Tung, P. G. A., Yusoff, M. K., Majid, N. M., Joo, G. K. and Huang, G. H. (2009). Effect of N and K fertilizers on nutrient leaching and groundwater quality under mature oil palm in sabah during the monsoon period. American Journal of Applied Science 6 (10):1788–1799.Google Scholar
UNEP (2003). GEO Year Book 2003. Emerging Challenges – New Findings, 55–64. United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Nairobi, Kenya.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Dubos supplementary material

Figure S1

Download Dubos supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 695.3 KB