Climate and soil effect on oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) yield

Abstract

Objective: To determine the potential yield and the water-limited yield in oil palm producing areas in the state of Tabasco.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The ERIC III v. 3.2 database (IMTA, 2009) was used to select climatological stations with daily records of precipitation, maximum and minimum temperature, reaching over 20 years. To estimate the potential yield, the methodology proposed by the FAO and improved by Fischer et al. (2012) was used. The estimation of the annual water deficit was done from the climatic water balance, using the equation reported by Ruiz-Álvarez et al. (2012).

Results: The average potential yield of oil palm with a high level of inputs varies between 35.8 and 40.6 t ha^-1 of fresh fruit bunches. The water-limited yield can vary on average between 15.6 and 23.5 t ha^-1 in plantations of at least 8 years of age, under rainfed conditions. The decrease in the maximum average achievable yield due to soil moisture deficits ranges from 19.2% to 49.5%.

Study limitations/implications: It is necessary to include climate change horizons in future studies to determine their impact on potential and water-limited yields, to know the future theoretical economic profitability of the crop.

Findings/conclusions: The analysis between the yields indicates that, if the gap between the current yields and water-limited yields is closed, there would be increases between 6.5 and 14.4 t ha^-1 and between 72.8% and 129% more, with respect to the potential yield.

Key words: yield gap, annual water deficit, water balance, potential yield.