UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA UTILISATION OF PALM OIL...
Transcript of UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA UTILISATION OF PALM OIL...
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
UTILISATION OF PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT AS NITROGEN SOURCE FOR OIL PALM ( ELAEIS GUINEENSIS JACQ. )
MOHAMAD HASHIM BIN AHMAD TAJUDIN
FP 1990 3
UT I LI SAT ION OF PALM OI L M I L L EFFLUENT AS NITROGEN SOURCE FOR OIL PALM (ELAEIS GUINEENsIS JACQ . )
By
MoHAMAD HASHIM BIN AHMAD TAJUDIN
Thesis Submitted in Partial Fu l fil ment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Agric u l tura l
Science in the Fac u l t y of Agriculture Univers i t i Pertan i an Ma l ays i a
May 1990
Specially dedicated to:
my wife - Lailaton Abd Rahman
and my children - Norsyimalaila
- Norfaeza
- Nor Adila
Whose love, understanding and support have greatly helped me in the
completion of this thesis.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to express his thanks and g ratitude to h i s
s u pe rvisors, Assoc i ate P rofessor D r . Zaharah Abd u l Rahman, Tuan Haj i
Abdu l Ha l im Haji Hash i m and M r . Yeow Kheng Hoe for their support ,
advice and guidance th roughout the who l e pe riod of this study .
The author i s a l so very gratef u l to the Biol ogy Depa rtment of
Unit Tenaga Nuk l ea r for the ass i stance on N- 1 5 anal ysis , Anal ytical
Chemist ry section of OPRS for the l eaf and soi l anal y s i s , staff of
Agronomy Section for co l l ect i on, comp i l at i on and statist i ca l anal ysis
of data and Adm i n i st ration Sect i on for the typing of th i s manusc ript .
He i s a l so g ratefu l to the D i rector, Resea rch and Dev e l opment and
col l eagues at the O i l Pa l m Research Station and P rang Besar Research
Station for t he i r support , comments and encou ragement .
Fina11y , the author wou l d l i ke to thank Go l den Hope P l antations
Be rhad for the s ponsorsh i p of h i s study at Unive rsit i Pertanian
Mal aysia .
i i i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ; ; ;
L I ST OF TABLES v; 1
L I ST OF FIGURES x i
L I ST OF ABBREVIAT IONS xii
ABSTRACT x i ;;
ABSTRAK xv;
CHAPTERS
I
I I
I NTRODUCT ION
L ITERATURE REVIEW 3
N i t rogen Req u i rement of O i l Pa l m 3
So i l N i t rogen and O rgan i c Matter Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 4
T ypes of POME 6
M i ne ral i sation of N 8
Benef i c i a l Effects of Eff l uent App 1 i cat i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1
Effect o f Eff l uent on C rop P roduct i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1
Effect of Eff l uent on Vegetat i ve G rowth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2
Effect of Eff l uent on So i l N i t rogen Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2
Quant i tat i ve Measu rement of N u t r i ent Uptake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3
i v
I I I MATERIALS AND METHODS 1 6
I V
Tria l No . 1 - Minera l isat i on o f Nitrogen lh Treated POME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6
Treatments 1 6
�xperimenta' Procedure 1 6
Tria l No . 2 - Avai l abi l ity of Nitrogen in Treated POME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7
Treatments 1 8
Experiment a l Procedure 1 8
Tria l No . 3 - Eva l uat i on of Treated POME as Fert i l i zer Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0
Treatments 2 1
Design and P l ot S i ze 2 1
Experimenta l Procedure 2 1
RESULTS AND DI SCUSSION 2 5
Nutrient Composition of Treated POME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 5
Minera l isation of N i trogen 2 7
Distribution of N i n O i l Pa l m Seed 1 i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1
Effect of Treated POM E on Soil Nitrogen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 6
Ava i l abi l ity o f POME-N
Uptake of POM E-N
Effect of Treated POME on Soil
38
42
Chemic a l Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Effect of Treated POME on Pa l m Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6
Effect of Treated POME o n Leaf Nutrient Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 9
v
Effect of T reated POME on FFB yie l d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 3
v SUMMARY AND CONCLUS ION 6 6
BIBLIOGRAPHY 69
APPENDI CES 7 9
VITA 1 7 3
vi
L IST OF TABLES
Tab l e Page
Est i mates of Tota l Soil N i t rogen i n the Top 45 cm of P rof i l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
N u t r i ent Ana l y s i s of Var i ous T ypes of POME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I nc ubat i on study T reatments
POME App l i cat i on T reatments
Nut r i ent Compos i t i on of Treated POME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
N i t rogen Compos i t i on of T reated POME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
D i st r i but i on of N i t rogen i n O i l Pa l m Seedl i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Concent rat i on of N i t rogen i n Va r i ous Parts of Oil Palm Seed l i ng . . . . . . . . . . . .
9 Tota l N i t rogen Y i e l d i n Plant Parts
1 0 Effect of T reated POME on Dry Matte r P roduct i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 1 N i t rogen Content of POME-T reated and Unt reated Soi 1 s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 2 Soi l - N Status Before and After T r i a l Pe r i od . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 3a Ava i lab i l i ty of POME-N i n T r i al N o . 2 ( a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 3b Ava i l ab i l i ty of POME-N i n T r i a l No . 2 (b) ............................. .
1 4a N i t rogen i n Plant De r ived f rom T reated POME i n T r i a l No . 2 ( a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 4b N i t rogen i n Plant De r i ved f rom T reated POME i n T r i al No. 2 ( b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
v i i
9
1 7
2 1
2 6
2 7
3 2
3 2
34
3 5
3 6
37
3 9
4 0
43
44
15
1 6
1 7
1 8
1 9
20
2 1
2 2
2 3
2 4
2 5
2 6
2 7
2 8
2 9
3 0
3 1
3 2
3 3
Total N i t rogen i n T reated POME
Equ ivalent Value of POME-N in Un i t of Ammon i urn Su 1 phate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ut i l i sat i on Eff i c i ency of POME-N
Effect of T reated POME on Soil Chemi cal P rope rt i es at 0- 1 5 cm Depth . . . . . . . . . . .
Effect of T reated POME on Soil Chem i cal P rope rties at 1 5-30 em Depth . . . . . . . . . .
Effect of T reated POME on Soil Chemi cal P rope rt i es at 30-45 cm Depth . . . . . . . . . .
Effect of T reated POME on F rond Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Effect of T reated POME on F rond We i ght . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Effect of T reated POME on Le"f A rea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Effect of T reated POME on T runk He i ght . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Effect of T reated POME on Leaf N i t rogen Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Effect o f T reated POME on Leaf Phosphorus Status
Effect of T reated POME on Leaf Potass i um Status
Effect of T reated POME on Leaf Magnes i um Status
Effect of T reated POME on Leaf Cal c i urn Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Effect of T reated POME on FFB Y i eld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Effect of T reated POME on Bunch P roduct i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Effect of T reated POME on Bunch We i ght . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Anal ys i s of Va r i ance for Total N i t rogen Y i eld i n P l ant Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
v i ; ;
46
46
46
50
5 2
5 4
5 7
5 7
58
58
60
6 1
6 1
6 2
6 2
64
6 5
6 5
1 07
34
35
3 6
3 7
3 8
3 9
40
4 1
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
Analys i s of Var i ance for Effect of T reated POME on D ry Matte r P roduct i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analys i s of V a r i ance fo r N i t rogen Content of POME-T reated and Unt rea ted So i 1 s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analys i s of Va r i ance for E ffect of T reated POME on Soil Chem i cal P rope rt i es at 0- 1 5 cm Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analys i s of Var i ance fo r Effect of T reated POME on Soil Chem i cal P rope rt i es at 1 5- 3 0 cm Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analys i s of Va r i ance for Effect of T reated POME on So il Chem i ca l P rope rt i es at 30-45 cm Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analys i s of Va r i ance for Effect of T reated POM E on F rond Length
Analys i s of Va r i ance for Effect of T reated POME on F rond We i ght
Analys i s of V a r i ance for Effect of T reated POME on Leaf A rea
Analys i s of V a r i ance for Effect of T reated POME on T runk He i ght
Analys i s of V a r i ance fo r Effect of T reated POME on Leaf N i t rogen Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analys i s of V a r i ance for Effect of T reated POME on Leaf Phosphoru s Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analys i s of V a r i ance for Effect of T reated POME on Leaf Potass i urn Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Anal ys i s of V a r i ance for Effect of T reated POME on Leaf Magnes i urn Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analys i s of Va r i ance for Effect of T reated POME on Leaf Cal c i um status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analys i s of Va r i ance fo r Effect of T reated POME on FFB Y i eld
i x
1 1 1
1 1 5
1 1 6
1 27
1 38
1 49
1 5 1
1 53
1 55
1 57
1 5 9
1 6 1
1 63
1 65
1 67
4 9
50
Ana l ys i s of V a r i ance for Effect of T reated POME on Bunch P roduct i on
Ana l ys i s of Var i ance for Effect of T reated POME on Bunch We i ght . . . . . . . . . .
x
1 69
1 7 1
Fig u re
1
2
3
4
5
L I ST OF FIGURES
P a l m Oi l and Eff l uent P roduction
N- 1 5 Appl i cat i on Schedule
Expe r i mental P l ot
M i n e ral i sat i on of N i n POME-T reated SOll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
M i neral i sat i on of N i n Unt reated Soi 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . . . . • • . • • • • . •
x i
Page
7
1 9
2 3
2 8
2 9
a . e .
ANOVA
A-POME
BOD
CEC
COD
C I RP
CjN
FFB
Gol den
LSD
MOP
Ndf F
NdfS
NdfPOME
OPRS
POME
RCBD
Hope
L I ST OF ABBREVIAT IONS
atom excess
Ana l ys i s of Va r i ance
A-v a l ue of POME
B i ochem i ca l Oxygen Demand
Cat i on Exchange Capac i ty
Chemi c a l Oxygen Demand
Ch r i stmas I s l and Rock Phosphate
Ca rbon to N i t rogen rat i o
F resh F ru i t Bunch
Go l den Hope P l antat i ons Be rhad
Least S i gn i f i cant D i ffe rence
Mu r i ate of Potash
N i t rogen de r i ved f rom Fe rt i l i ze r
N i t rogen de r i ved f rom Soi l
N i t rogen de r i ved f rom Palm O i l M i l l Eff l uent
Oi l Pa l m Research Stat i on
Pa l m O i l M i l l Eff l uent
Randomi sed Compl ete B l oc k Des i gn
x i i
ABSTRACT
Abst ract of thes i s submi tted to the Senate of Unive r�iti Pe rtan i an Ma l ays i a i n p a rt i a l fu l f i l ment
of the requ i rements fo r the deg ree of Master of Ag r i cu l tu ra l Sc ience
UT ILISATION OF PALM O I L M ILL EFFLUENT AS NITROGEN SOURCE FOR O I L PALM ( ELAEIS GUINEENS I S JACQ . )
By
MoHAMAD HASHIM BIN AHMAD TAJUDIN
May 19 9 0
Supe rv i so r : Assoc i ate P rofessor D r . Zaharah Abd . Rahman
Facu l ty Agr i cu l tu re
P a l m o i l m i 1 1 eff l uent ( POME ) i s an o rgan i c waste mate r i a l
p roduced a t the o i l m i l l . I n i ts raw form , POME i s h i gh l y pol l ut i ng .
I t must be t reated befo re be i ng d i scha rged i nto the wate rways . But
i n v i ew of i ts h i gh nut r i ent content , i t can be recyc l ed to the soi l
as a fe rt i l i ze r for ag r i cu l tu ra l c rops .
I n th i s study , th ree se ries of expe r i ments were conducted .
F i rst , a l aboratory i ncubat i on study a i med at dete rm i n i ng the rate of
n i t rogen m i ne ra l i sat i on of t reated POM E . Second , hu rse ry t r i a l s w i th
the object i ve of quant i fy i ng the amount of n i t rogen ava i l ab i l i ty i n
t reated POME us i ng N- 1 5 t race r techn i que . T h i rd , a fie l d t r i al w i th
x i i i
the a i m of eva l u at i ng the effect i veness of eff l uent as a n i t rogen
fe rt i l i ze r for matu re o i l pa l m .
Resu l ts o f the i ncubat i on study i nd i cated that ammon i um-N was
made ava i l ab l e a l most i mmed i ate l y afte r app l i cat i on . Its re lease
recorded a s l i ght i nc rease at the fou rth week and the reafte r
stabi l i sed w i th t i me . The t rend was d i ffe rent for n i t rate-No Its
release was negl i g i ble at the i n i t i al pe r i od , but i nc reased
s i gn i f i cant l y afte r e i ght weeks of i ncubat i on . T h i s i s an i nd i cat i on
of n i t r i f i cat i on p rocess occu r r i ng i n the soi l i n whi ch ammo n i um-N was
conve rted to n i t rate- N o
I n the n u rse ry t r i a l , the amount of n i t rogen re le ased and taken
u p by o i l pa l m seed l i ngs depended ve ry much on the n i t rogen content
of the t re ated POME . At 2 2 54 mg kg- 1 n i t rogen content , about 1 . 2 5 3 9
N i n equ i va l ent un i t of ammon i um su l phate was made ava i l ab l e a l most
i mmed i ate l y afte r app l i cat i on for a pe r i od of two months . At a h i ghe r
content of 485 1 m g kg-1 , the rate of n i t rogen re 1 ease peaked a t one
month afte r app l i cat i on i n wh i ch 8 . 3 5 5 9 N i n equ i va l e nt u n i t of
ammon i um su l phate was made avai l ab l e for p l ant u ptake . The amount of
POME-N taken up by o i 1 pa l m seed l i ngs was aga i n re l ated to the
n i t rogen content of t reated POM E . At l ow l eve l of n i t rogen content
about 0 . 1 65 9 N i n equ i va l ent u n i t of ammon i um s u l phate was taken up
whi le at h i gh n i t rogen content the uptake was 0 . 40 1 g N thus g i v i ng
u t i l i sat i on eff i c iency of 7 . 3% and 8 . 3% respect i ve l y .
x i v
I n the fie l d t r i a l , the effect i veness of t reated POME as a
sou rce of n i t rogen was con f i rmed . Its app l i cat i on at appropr i ate rate
was obse rved to be ab le to support sat i sfactory pa l m g rowth and c rop
p roduct i on . In add i t i on , soi l chemi ca l p rope rt i es were a l so i mproved .
F rom the resu l ts of these t r i a l s , i t i s conc luded that treated
POME i s just as effect i ve as i norgan i c fe rt i l i ze r i n supp l y i ng
n i t rogen for 0; 1 pal m p l anted on Se l angor se r i es so i l .
xv
ABSTRAK
Abstrak tes i s yang d i kemukakan kepada.Senat Un i ve rs i t i Pe rtan i an Mal ays i a sebagai memenuhi
sebahag i an d a r i pada syarat-syarat untuk I j azah Maste r Sa i ns Pe rtan i an
PENGGUNAAN EFLUEN KI LANG MINVAK SAWIT SEBAGAI SUMBER NITROGEN UNTUK KELAPA SAWIT ( ELAEIS GUINEENSIS JACQ . )
O l eh
MOHAMAD HASHI M BIN AHMAD TAJUDIN
Me; 1990
Ketua Pen ye l i a : P rofesor Madya D r . Zaharah Abd . Rahman
Faku l t i Pe rta n i an
Ef l uen ki l an g m i nyak saw i t ( POME) i a l ah satu bahan buangan
o rga n i k yang te rdapat di k i l an g- k ; l an g . Da l am keadaan asa l ny a , POME
boleh mencemarka n a1am sek i ta r . Dengan sebab i tu , i anya pe r1u d i rawat
sebe l um d i sa l u rkan ke sunga i . Tetap i memandangkan kepada kanduhgan
u ns u r n ut r ien yang t i ngg i d i d a l am POM E , i anya bo1eh d i gunakan sebaga i
baj a untuk tanaman pe rtan i an .
Da l am kaj i an i n i , t i ga s i r i pe rcubaan te l ah d i j a l ankan .
Pe rtama , pe rcubaan pen ge raman di makmal yang be rtuj uan Untuk
menentukan kada r m i ne ra l i sa s i n i t rogen yang te rdapat di da l am POM E .
Kedua , pe rcubaan d i tapak sema i an untuk menentukan kedapatan n i trogen
xv i
d i da l am POME men ggunakan kaedah pencai ran i sotop N- 1 5 . Ketiga ,
pe rcubaan d i ladang untuk menguj i kebe rkesanan POME sebagai baj a
organ i k untuk ke l apa saw i t .
Keputusan kaj i an pen ge raman menunj u kkan bahawa n i t rogen d a l am
bentuk ammon i um men j ad i te rsed i a se l epas d i s i ram ke tana h .
M i ne ra l i sas i ammonium-N men i n gkat sed i k i t pada m i nggu keempat dan
kemud i annya stab i l pada pe r i n gkat yang rendah sed i k i t . Corak
m i ne ra l i sasi n i t rate-N be r l a i nan pu l a . Pada pe r i n g kat awa l
pen ge raman , m i ne ra l i sa s i n i t rate-N ada l ah te r l a l u rendah tetapi
men i n gkat dengan be re rt i se 1 epas 1 apan m i nggu . I n i menunj u kkan
te rdapatnya p roses n i t r i f i kas i di da 1 am tanah di mana ammon i um-N
d i tuka rkan ke n i t rate-No
Dal am pe rcubaan d i tapak sema i an , j um l ah n i t rogen te rsed i a dan
d i se rap 01 eh anak ke 1 apa saw it ada 1 ah be rgantung kepada kandungan
n i t rogen d i d a l am e f l uen te rawat . Pada kandungan n i t rogen 2 2 5 4 mg
kg- 1 , l e b i h ku rang 1 . 2 5 3 9 N d a l am un i t pe rsamaan ammon i um s u l fat
te l ah te rsed i a se l e pas sahaj a d i s i ram se l ama dua bu l an . Pada
kandungan n i t rogen yang t i n g g i i a i tu 485 1 mg kg- 1 , kadar pembebasan
n i t rogen memuncak pada satu bu l an se l epas d i s i ram dengan 8 . 3 5 5 9 N
da l am u n i t pe rsamaan ammon i um s u l fat te rsed i a untuk d i se rap oleh
pokok . Kuant i t i POME-N yang d i se rap o l eh anak ke l apa saw i t j uga
be rka i t rapat dengan kandungan n i t rogen di da l am efl uen te rawat .
Pada kandungan n i t rogen yang rendah , sebanyak 0 . 1 65 9 N d a l am u n i t
xv i i
pe rsamaan ammon i um su l fat te l ah d i se rap , manaka l a pada kandungan
n i t rogen yang t i n g g i penye rapan ada l ah sebanyak 0 . 40 1 9 N menjad i kan
kecekapan penggunaan mas i ng-mas i ng pada t ahap 7 . 3% dan 8 . 3% .
Da l am pe rcubaan d i l adang , keputusan yang d i dapat i telahpun
menunjukkan kebe rkesanan POME sebagai punca n i t rogen. Pembe r i an POM E
kepada pokok ke 1 apa saw i t dengan kad a r te rtentu te l a h menunjukkan
keu payaannya untuk menampung pe rtumbuhan pokok dan has i l pada tahap
yang memuaskah . Di samp i ng i tu , s i fat k i m i a tanah juga te l ah
d i pe rt i ngkat kan .
Be rdasarkan kepada keputusan yang d i peroleh i , maka boleh l ah
d i buat kesimpu l an bahawa POME be rupaya membe r i kan unsu r n i t rogen sama
sepe rt i baj a bukan organ i k kepada ke l apa s aw i t yang d i tanam d i kawasan
t anah s i r i Se l ango r .
xv i i i
CHAPTER I
I NTRODUCT ION
O i l pa l m (E]ae1s gu1neens1s Jacq . ) is the wor l d's most rap i d l y
expand i ng p l antat i on c rop ove r the past two decades and i t has become
one of the most i mportant sou rces of vegetable o i l s and fats , con
t ribut i ng about 1 5% of the wor l d ' s supp l y i n whi ch Mal ays i a i s the
b i ggest p roduce r . Its cU l t i vated a rea i n Mal ays i a is expand i ng
fU rthe r w i th the o pen i ng up of new a reas and rehab i l i tat i on of i d l e
l and . T h i s i s i n l i ne w i th the Nat i on a l Agr i cu l t u re Pol i cy wh i ch a i ms
at mai nta i n i ng the count ry as the numbe r one p roduce r of pa l m o i l .
The rapi d expans i on of o i l pa l m i ndustry i n Ma l ays i a has
resu l ted i n an i nc rease of c rude pa l m o i l p rodUct i on f rom about
43 1 , 000 tonnes i n 1 970 to 5 m i l l i on tonnes i n 1 98 8 . Its p roduct i on
i s p rojected to i nc re ase fU rthe r to about 5 . 5 m i l l i on tonnes i n 1 990
and 8 . 1 m i l l i on ton nes i n the yea r 2000 . W i t h such l arge p roduct i on
of pal m oi l the re wou l d a l so be abundant by-p roducts and res i dues .
One of the majo r by-p roducts p roduced i s pa 1m o i l m i 1 1 eff l uent
( POME ) . I n 1 981 , 7 . 5 m i l l i on tonnes of POME was gene rated and thi s
i s expected to dou b l e i n 1 990 . D i scha rg i ng raw waste mate r i a l
i nto wate rways i s a threat to the env i ronment because of the h i gh
b i ochem i ca l oxygen demand (BO D ) and chemi�al oxygen demand
( COD) content ( Yeow , 1983 ) . The gove rnment has s i nce enfo rced
2
the Env i ronment a l Qua l i ty Act wh i ch requ i res that raw POME be t reated
to an acceptab l e lBve l before i t i s d i scharged .
Howeve r , POME cou l d be put i nto good use i n v i ew of i ts h i gh
nut r i ent va l ue . Many resea rch f i nd i ngs have shown that vari ous types
of waste mate r i a l s a re good sou rce of p l ant nut r i ents . The i r app l i ca
t i on to l and as fe rt i l i ze r suppl ement for c rops was found to be
benef i c i a l to c rop performance and soi l phys i ca l and chem i c a l
characte r i st i cs (Kha l ee l e t ru. . , 1 98 1; Demuynck et ru. . , 1 984; Ghede r i m
et ru. . , 1 98 5 ; T i t 1 oye et ru. . , 1 98 5 ) .
Some stud i es have been ca r r i ed out on ut i l i sat i on of POME and i ts
effect on c rop and so i l p rope rt i es. Howeve r , l i tt l e attenti on had been
g i ven to the resea rch works a i med at quant i fy i n g the amount of
nut r i ents rel eased by POME fo r p l ant uptake . Though POME conta i ns
othe r major p l ant nut r i ents , thi s study emphas i ses on n i t rogen i n v i ew
of i ts h i gh compos i t i on i n the eff l uent . The object i ves of the study
we re the refore ,
( i )
( i i )
( i i i )
To dete rm i ne the mi ne ra l i sat i on rate of n i t rogen
i n t reated POM E .
T o quant i fy the amount o f n i t rogen de r i ved f rom
t reated POM E .
To eva l uate the effect i veness of t reated POME as
fert i lizer sou rce fo r o i l pa l m g rowth and y i e l d .
CHAPTER I I
LITERATURE R EVIEW
N i t rogen Requ i rement of O i l Palm
N i trogen i s an essent i a l const i tuen t of p rote i n , nucle i c ac i ds
and var i ous enzymes . Most of the b i ochem i ca l react i on s i n the pa l m
a re cata l ysed b y enzymes and thus n i t rogen p l ays a n i mpo rtant funct i on
v i rtual l y i n a l l phys i o l og i ca l p rocesses ( F ran k , 196 5 ) . I n s i tuat i on s
whe re n i t rogen i s def i c i ent , ch l oros i s of leaves occu rs whi ch leads
to reduced rate of photosynthes i s . Red uced p rote i n synthes i s a l so
occurs resu l t i ng i n gene ra l l oss of v i gou r . I n expe r i ment whe re
seve re n i t rogen def i c iency was i nduced on o i l pa l m seed l i ngs , leaf
ch l o rophyl l content was g reat l y reduced and photosynthet i c rate was
a l so l owe red ( Co r ley , 1 9 7 6 ) .
I n o i l pa l m , n i t rogen fe rt i l i ze r appl i cat i on had been shown to
i nc rease leaf a rea , l eaf we i ght , rate of leaf p roduct i on and net
ass i mi l at i on rate ( Co r ley and Mok , 1 9 7 2 ) . Its appl i cat i on had a l so
been shown to i nc rease f resh f ru i t bunch ( FFB ) y i e l d on both i n l and
and coasta l soi l s ( Teoh and Chew , 1980; Chan , 198 1 ; Tan � � . , 1 9 8 1 ;
S i nasamy et �. , 1982; L i m et � . , 1984 ) .
I n coasta l c l ay soi l such as Se l angor se r i e s (� Tropaguept )
the mai n res ponse was to n i t rogen even though the fe rt i l i ty of th i s
3
4
soi l i s cons i dered to be h i gher than most of the othe r so i l s i n
Pen i nsu l ar Ma l ays i a (Foster and Goh , 1 97 7; Teoh and Chew , 1 980;
Foste r et � . , 1 98 5 ) . S i m i l a r response was a l so obt a i ned i n the l eaf
n i t rogen content (P i ggott , 1 968; Teoh and Chew , 1 980 ) .
Soi l N i t rogen and O rgan i c Matter Status
Gene ra l l y , M a l ays i an soi l s a re poo r i n nut r i ent status . They
are heav i l y l eached , ac i d i c , l ow i n exchangeab l e bases , base
satu rat i on percentage and a l so l ow i n cat i on exchange capac i ty (Law
and Tan , 1 97 7 ) . I n a reas whe re p l antat i on c rops have been g rown for
two to th ree generat i ons , most of the i nhe rent so i l nut r i ents and
o rgan i c matter a re exhausted . The est i mated quant i ty of n i t rogen i n
some of the common Ma l ays i an soi l s under p l antat i on was found to be
ran g i n g f rom 2 7 2 0 to 2 2 1 80 kg ha- 1 (Pushpa rajah , 1 98 2 ) . O i l pa l m i n
part i cu l a r , u t i l i se s l arge amounts of nut r i ents i n orde r to susta i n
h i gh c rop p roduct i on . I t was est i mated that the tot a l req u i rement of
n i t rogen f rom the f i rst to the f i fteenth yea r wh i ch i s the most act i ve
g row i ng pe r i od of the p a l m, amounted to about 2455 kg N ha- 1 (Ng ,
1 97 2 ) . W i th th i s assumpt i on , the n i t rogen p resent i n most M a l ays i an
so i l s (Tabl e 1 ) i s i nsuff i c i ent to sat i sfy the needs of the c rop
(Pushpa raj ah , 1 98 2 ).
Organ i c matte r i s one of the most i mportant consti tuents of soi 1
wh i ch i nf l uences many phys i ca l , chemi cal and b i o l og i ca l p rope rt i es .
I t the refore p l ays an i mportant ro l e i n improv i ng the ove ra l l
fert i l i ty of so i l , part i cu l a r l y the h i gh l y l eached M a l ays i an so i l s
Tab l e 1
l:�timl1to'1 of Tot.n1 Soil NHrogon in tho Top 45 em of P rofi l e
5
------------ ------ -- - - - - - - - --------------------------- --- ------- ----________________ _______ __ • _ _ _ _ __ _ " � _ _ M _ _ �� _ _ ____ ____________ _____________ _
Soi l Ser i es SoI l Order Range of N ( kg ha- 1 )8
Rengam U l t 1 sol 4 1 90 - 1 1 300
Serdang U l t i so l 4090 - 1 0690
Du r i an U l t i sol 2 7 2 0 - 1 38 7 0
Ma l acca Oxi so l 2 8 00 - 1 0 1 00
Ho l y rood Ent i sol 5 1 50 - 1 3560
Sel angor Incept i so l 4650 - 2 2 1 80
-- ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- ---- ---------
Sou rce
a : Pushpa raj ah , 1 98 2
(Othman e t ru. . , 1 97 9 ) . The ave rage organ i c matter content of soi l
p l anted w i th p l antat i on c rops was obse rved to be 4 . 0 1 % and 2 . 50% i n
the 0-6 and 6- 1 5 cm depth respect i ve l y w i th co r respond i ng n i t rogen
content of 0 . 1 6% and 0 . 1 0% ( Cou l te r , 1 950 ) . It is because of th i s
h i gh l y benef i c i a l effect of organic matte r that l egumi nous g round
covers a re estab l i shed i n p l antat i ons to i mp rove and mai nta i n soi l
fert i l i ty . Estab l i shment of l egum i nous cover c rops had been shown to
cont r i bute about 900 kg ha- 1 of n i t rogen (Taj ud i n et ru. . , 1 98 0 ) . Its
estab l i shment had al so been shown to s i gn i f i cant l y i nc rease FFB y i e l d
i n o i l pa l m p l antat i on ( G ray and Hew , 1 96 8 ).
6
Appl i cat i on of p a l m o i l m i l l eff l uent was a l so found to i mp rove
the organ i c matter and n i t rogen status of soi l ( Poon , 1 98 2 ; L i m et
li . , 1 98 3; L i m , 1 987 ) . App l i cat i on of catt l e s l u rry and sewage s l udge
were obse rved to have s i m i l ar benef i c i a l effects ( Demuynck et � . ,
1 984 ; L i nde rmann and Cardenas , 1 984 ; Ga rau et �. , 1986 ) .
T ypes of POME
I n the m i l l i ng of f resh f ru i t bunches at the o i l mi l l , there a re
th ree ma i n waste p roducts that cont r i bute to the f i na 1 d i scha rged
effl uent (Ma et li . , 1 982 ) . T hey a re :
( i ) Ste r i 1 i se r condensate whi ch i s the waste
d i scha rge of the ste r i l i sat i on p rocess .
( i i ) Hyd rocyc l one waste whi ch i s produced f rom the
kerne l separat i ng p rocess .
( i i i ) S l udge waste wh i ch i s p roduced at the separat i ng
p rocess of the o i l l i qu o r . T h i s waste i s a l so
te rmed as cent r i fuga l s l udge .
T hese three wastes form the f i na l d i scharge wh i ch i s c a l l ed raw
eff l uent . D i ag rammatic f l ow chart of pa l m o i l ext ract i on p rocess and
waste p roduct i on i s shown i n F i g u re 1 .
Ave rage p roduct i on of these wastes i s about 1 3 . 6 mt ha- 1 ( Chan et
�. , 1980 ) o r about 2 . 5 mt effl uent pe r tonne of pa l m o i l p roduced