Excessive fertilizer applications in oil palm plantations are conventionally done to increase the oil yield, but they result in high production cost and environmental pollution. There have been only separate reports on the effects of fertilizer application on soil physical, chemical characteristics, and microbial biodiversity. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the correlation between soil characteristics and soil microbial biodiversity in oil palm plantation after long-term frequent chemical fertilizer application compared with secondary soil, using molecular methods of polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and MiSeq. Secondary forest soil was chosen as the control. The results showed that after 25 years of fertilizer application, the total nitrogen and organic carbon contents decreased from low to very low scale, indicating soil infertility condition. Reduction of Firmicutes was related to suppression of soil borne diseases, and Bacteroidetes which is an indicator of soil health were both almost eliminated after 25 years of fertilizer application. In conclusion, long-term inorganic fertilizer application reduced the soil nitrogen, and organic carbon, altered beneficial microbes in the soil.
The right decision is needed before the irrigation project starts because it is risky, costly and required a sitespecific approach. The study aims to estimate oil palm irrigation water demand by using FAO-CROPWAT model. Study was conducted in Chuping Region, Northern Peninsular of Malaysia. Four points were selected to represent North, East, West and South for soil sampling. The samples were sent to a laboratory to measure the water content after pressure applied at 0, 1, 10, 33 and 1500 kPa. Total available water holding capacity was found at 105-227 mm for 100 cm soil depth and the lowest value was selected to be used in FAO-CROPWAT model, developed by Land and Water Development Division of Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). Prior to that, history of 14 years of monthly meteorological data were collected and serve as climatic data for potential evapotranspiration calculation. Based on the simulation, crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and irrigation requirement (IR) was 1175 and 255.2 mm yr-1 respectively. Total net irrigation was concluded at 132 mm yr-1 with the assumption of 80% irrigation efficiency and 5.0 mm of irrigation input. Through this study, FAO-CROPWAT found to be a suitable approach to estimate crop water requirement (CWR) for oil palm and simulate irrigation scheduling for the entire year. It can help to strategise the management plan prior to any irrigation project design and increase potential for good economic return.
Malaysia receives a lot of water from its two main monsoon periods. Generally, there is a lot of precipitation throughout the year, with drought periods lasting less than three months. To date, irrigation has been treated homogenously, even though soil properties can vary spatially over a field, requiring site-specific applications. The aim of this study was to establish an irrigation management zone (IMZ) covering 23.4 ha, which was previously determined under the same soil series. Soil sampling was done according to a grid system over an area of 100 m × 100 m. Three soil depth ranges were examined for every sampling point, namely 0–30, 30–60, and 60–90 cm from the soil surface. Samples were taken to a laboratory for physical analysis and determination of the available water-holding capacity (AWHC). Delineation of AWHC values was achieved using GIS software and the Kriging method. Estimated irrigation depth (EID) data for the plantation were collected for the years 2016 and 2017. Afterward, EID and total net irrigation (TNI) data were simulated in the FAO Cropwat model and compared. The results showed that clay, sand, and organic matter (OM) distributions varied with soil depth; however, no strong correlation was found between these variable with AWHC. The IMZ was classified into three areas named zones A, B, and C, ranging from 79 to 167 mm. The crop water requirement (CWR) was 667 mm in 2016 but only 260 mm in 2017. Based on the AWHC values, the EID for 2016 was found to be below the TNI requirement range of about 106 to 110 mm. In contrast, the EID range was approximately 34 to 62 mm and above TNI requirements for 2017. This study indicates that water inputs for irrigation can be optimized with knowledge of the water-holding capacity of a specific soil. Subsequently, this can be related to crop yield and the impact on sustainable agriculture.
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