This is a hands-on, practical guide to describe physical bunch and oil analysis of oil palm. Bunch and oil analysis laboratories are set up at oil mills to assess production, yield potential of plantations and oil extraction rates relative to targets. The higher the oil yields produced by the planting material, the less land that is needed to achieve a specific level of production, hence helping in the sustainability of the crop. This is an invaluable manual for oil palm mill managers, oil palm plantation managers, palm oil producers, oil palm breeders, agronomists, oil chemists, oil palm seed producing companies and research institutes across the world (especially tropical zones). It is useful for those starting a career in oil palm production, as a reference guide for managers and for training purposes.

The origin and development of the oil palm industry. The botany of the oil palm. The climates and soils of the oil palm regions. Factors affecting growth, flowering and yield. Oil palm selection and breeding. Germination and the preparation and storage of seed. The raising of nursery seedlings. The preparation of land for oil palm plantations. The establishment of oil palms in the field. The care and maintenance of a plantation. The nutrition of the oil palm. Mixed cropping, rearing livestock among oil palms and tapping for wine. Diseases and pests of the oil palm. The products of the oil palm and their extraction.

This is a hands-on, practical guide to describe field trials in oil palm. The location for field trials is key, as is land preparation. Other logistics include the germination of seeds from crossing programmes, planting in a nursery and well-grown seedlings for field planting. The trial design needs to be translated into field lay out. Field planting is a critical point requiring plant care, good labelling, field lining and a system of checks, and must be timed to the rainy season. Recording of trials starts 1 year after planting for crown disease assessment and continues for yield approximately 30 months after field planting. Growth measurements also begin 30 months after planting. Tests for oil yield and quality are carried out one year after yield recording.

This book covers topics related to impacts and challenges in the oil palm production chain (with sustainability in mind) and consists of nine chapters. Three chapters deal with the upstream aspect, including a holistic approach in the sustainability analysis of oil palm processing; sustainable pest and disease management; and assessment on the impacts of oil palm plantations on butterfly fauna. Six chapters discuss downstream applications, including innovative pre-treatment methods and extraction mechanisms in crude palm oil (CPO) processing; challenges and potential of palm-based biomass and palm oil mill effluent for the production of sustainable power and value-added products; and innovative ways for extracting oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) lignin for nutraceutical and health supplements; reproducibility of natural resources for the synthesis of low transition temperature mixtures (LTTMS) as biomass pre-treatment; and reusing oil palm biomass waste to reinforce composite materials. Combining the expertise of leading researchers in their respective field, the book provides an overview on the impacts and challenges encountered in the sustainable oil palm production chain and offers a valuable reference work.

The oil palm is the world's most valuable oil crop. Its production has increased over the decades, reaching 56 million tons in 2013, and it gives the highest yields per hectare of all oil crops. Remarkably, oil palm has remained profitable through periods of low prices. Demand for palm oil is also expanding, with the edible demand now complemented by added demand from biodiesel producers. The Oil Palm is the definitive reference work on this important crop. This fifth edition features new topics - including the conversion of palm oil to biodiesel, and discussions about the impacts of palm oil production on the environment and effects of climate change alongside comprehensively revised chapters, with updated references throughout. The Oil Palm, Fifth Edition will be useful to researchers, plantation and mill managers who wish to understand the science underlying recommended practices. It is an indispensable reference for agriculture students and all those working in the oil palm industry worldwide.

Residues from agriculture and the food industry consist of many and varied wastes, in total accounting for over 250 million tonnes of waste per year in the UK alone. Biotechnological processing of these residues would allow these waste products to be used as a resource, with tremendous potential. An extensive range of valuable and usable products can be recovered from what was previously considered waste: including fuels, feeds and pharmaceutical products. In this way Biotechnology can offer many viable alternatives to the disposal of agricultural waste, producing several new products in the process. This book presents up-to-date information on a biotechnology approach for the utilisation of agro-industrial residues, presenting chapters with detailed information on materials and bioconversion technology to obtain products of economic importance: The production of industrial products using agro-industrial residues as substrates The biotechnological potential of agro-industrial residues for bioprocesses Enzymes degrading agro-industrial residues and their production Bioconversion of agro-industrial residues. Written by experts in Biotechnological processing of Agro-Industrial Residues, this book will provide useful information for academic researchers and industry scientists working in biotechnology, waste management, agriculture and the food industry.

Palm Oil: Production, Processing, Characterization, and Uses serves as a rich source of information on the production, processing, characterization and utilization of palm oil and its components. It also includes several topics related to oil palm genomics, tissue culture and genetic engineering of oil palm. Physical, chemical and polymorphic properties of palm oil and its components as well as the measurement and maintenance of palm oil quality are included and may be of interest to researchers and food manufacturers. General uses of palm oil/kernel oil and their fractions in food, nutritional and oleochemical products are discussed as well as the potential use of palm oil as an alternative to trans fats. Some attention is also given to palm biomass, bioenergy, biofuels, waste management, and sustainability. - Presents several chapters related to oil palm genetics, including oil palm genomics, tissue culture and genetic engineering. - Includes contributions from more than 80 well-known scientists and researchers in the field. - In addition to chapters on food uses of palm oil, the book contains nonfood applications such as use as a feedstock for wood-based products or for bioenergy. - Covers key aspects important to the sustainable development of palm oil.

The oil palm is the world's most valuable oil crop. With palm oilproduction increasing by more than 50% in the last decade of thetwentieth century and set to double in the next twenty years, ithas never before been so important to understand the history, useand cultivation of this fascinating crop. There have been many new developments since the third edition ofThe Oil Palm in 1988, particularly in the fields of clonalpropagation, agronomy, breeding and molecular genetics. This newedition has been completely rewritten, and is the first book torecord and explore these and many other developments. The book traces the origins and progress of the industry, anddescribes the basic science underlying the physiology, breeding andnutrition of the oil palm. It covers both cutting-edge research,and wider issues such as genetic modification of the crop, thepromise of clonal propagation, and the effects of palm oil on humanhealth. The practical problems of maximising yield of oil andkernels are discussed in relation to the present 'yield gap' andoil extraction rate decline in Malaysia. The oil palm is alsocompared to the soya bean and other oil crops, and the recenthistory of the price of oil palm products is considered in thelight of this. The Oil Palm makes an essential contribution to oil palmresearch and will be an indispensable reference and guide foragricultural students, researchers and all those working,worldwide, in the oil palm industry.

The book provides a broad synthesis of the major supply and demand drivers of the dramatic expansion of oil crops in the tropics; its economic, social, and environmental impacts; and the future outlook to 2050. It is a comprehensive review of the oil crop sector with a major focus on oil palm and soybeans, the two most dynamic crops in world agriculture in recent decades.