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LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR OIL PALM FRESH FRUIT BUNCH PRODUCTION FROM CONTINUED LAND USE FOR OIL PALM PLANTED ON MINERAL SOIL (part 2)

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR OIL PALM 

FRESH FRUIT BUNCH PRODUCTION FROM 

CONTINUED LAND USE FOR OIL PALM 

PLANTED ON MINERAL SOIL (part 2)

ZULKIFLI, H*; HALIMAH, M*; CHAN, K W*; CHOO, Y M* and MOHD BASRI, W*

Journal of Oil Palm Research Vol. 22 December 2010 p. 887-894

ABSTRACT

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an important tool for identifying potential environmental impacts associated 

with the production of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) from specific operations in Malaysian oil palm plantations. 

This LCA study is to make available the life cycle inventory for cradle-to-gate data so that the environmental 

impacts posed by FFB production in the plantation can be assessed. The results of the study provide the 

Malaysian palm oil industry with information, and identify ways and measures to reduce the environmental 

impacts.

Most of the foreground data were collected directly from the oil palm plantations (site specific) from a 

detailed survey of the estates throughout Malaysia. The inventory data were collected from 102 plantations 

(based on feedback to a questionnaire) covering 1.1 million hectares of planted area, which is approximately 

25% of the total area under oil palm. This survey area consisted of immature (1- to 2-year-old palms) and 

mature (3- to 25-year-old palms) areas, with both data sets included in the inventory for an amortized period of 

25 years. Data gaps were filled by information obtained through literature and public databases, or calculated 

using published models. The inputs and outputs from upstream activities were quantified on the basis of a 

functional unit of production of 1 t FFB, while the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) was carried out using 

the Sima Pro version 7.1 software and the Eco-indicator 99 methodology.

The weighted results of LCA for the production of 1 t FFB from continued land use (replanting) show 

significant environmental impacts in the fossil fuels, respiratory inorganics and climate change categories. The 

most significant process contributing to these environmental impacts comes from the production and usage 

of the various fertilizers (especially N fertilizers) from the use of field machinery (tractors) during operations 

in the plantation, and the use of transport vehicles bringing inputs to the plantations and transporting FFB 

to the mills. Producing FFB from continued land use (replanting) has no effect on land use.

The results clearly show that nitrogenous fertilizer production and application in the plantation is the 

most polluting process in the agricultural stage of FFB production; this is followed by the energy used by the 

machinery in the plantations and for transportation of FFB to the mills. Ways of reducing the environmental 

impacts are by increasing the FFB yield through the use of high-yielding oil palm planting materials which 

will result in increased fruit production, by applying more organic sources of nitrogen fertilizer instead of 

chemical fertilizers, by returning the nutrient-rich slurry from palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment 

ponds to the field, or by applying compost (empty fruit bunches + POME) as fertilizer.

* Malaysian Palm Oil Board,

P. O. Box 10620,

50720 Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia.

E-mail: zulhashim@mpob.gov.my
Journal of Oil Palm Research 22 (december 2010)

888

INTRODUCTION

The cultivation of oil palm in Malaysia began in 

1917. Today, an approximate land area of 4.69 million 

hectares is planted with oil palm, producing about 

17.56 million tonnes of palm oil (MPOB, 2009). The 

oil palm industry is continually expanding to meet 

the demand for oil for use as food and biodiesel. 

The key for increased production is mainly by 

intensifying production per unit area through yield 

advancement with improved planting materials 

and good agricultural practices. However, the 

continuous increase in oil palm area has generated 

negative perceptions by the NGOs concerning 

issues in biodiversity, erosion and greenhouse gas 

(GHG) emissions that lead to global warming. 

There is also greater public awareness in climate 

change, and a growing demand for green biofuel 

especially by the European Union (EU). Therefore, 

for sustainable production of oil palm, a long-term 

balance between inputs and outputs across the 

boundary system of oil palm production must be 

maintained during its life cycle.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is the most holistic 

and comprehensive method used in assessing 

an environmental burden and impacts resulting 

from oil palm production. The results presented 

in this study quantify the environmental impacts 

associated with the processes, products or activities 

carried out in the plantation during the life cycle 

of oil palm, which is 25 years. However, it is 

recognized that the results of this study are specific 

to oil palm planted on mineral soil only as the 

detailed methodology on peat which includes a 

study on carbon (C) stock, peat oxidation and C 

emissions is on-going, and will be reported once 

all data are available. The impacts due to pesticides 

and heavy metal residues are small and regarded as 

having an insignificant effect on the environment. 

The effect of indirect land use change (ILUC), 

which is defined as the displacement of prior crop 

production and the possible land use induced by 

the movement of prior crop production to other 

areas, was not included in this study. It needs to be 

noted that this displacement may have a potentially 

large contribution to the overall GHG emissions. 

However, due to a lack of data and the complexity 

of the methodology, this ILUC effect was not 

estimated in this study.

The main objective of the study is the use 

of the LCA approach in identifying potential 

environmental impacts associated with the 

production of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) and in 

assessing GHG emissions from specific operations 

in an oil palm plantation for the production of FFB. 

This study only considered continued land use by 

oil palm from a previous generation (replanting) 

and not from other land use resulting in a change 

from the primary or degraded forest, or from other 

tree crops.

BACKGROUND OF FFB PRODUCTION

Oil palm is a monoecious crop as it bears both 

male and female flowers in the same plant. The 

palm produces compact bunches of 10 to 25 kg 

each, bearing 1000 to 3000 fruits, and are almost 

spherical or elongated in shape. Generally, the fruit 

is dark purple, almost black when unripe, turning 

to orange red when ripe. The fruit comprises a hard 

kernel (seed) enclosed in a shell (endocarp) which 

is surrounded by a fleshy mesocarp.

The oil palm may grow to a height of 

approximately 10 m before it is replanted after about 

25-30 years. The harvested FFB contains around 25% 

oil, 25% seeds (5% kernels), 13% mesocarp fibre, 7% 

shell, and 23% empty fruit bunches (Corley and 

Tinker, 2003). In Malaysia, the oil palm planted is 

mainly the tenera variety, a hybrid between dura

and pisifera. Tenera yields about 4 to 5 t of crude 

palm oil (CPO) per hectare in a year, and about 1 t 

of kernels. Oil palm is the most efficient oil-bearing 

crop in the world, requiring only 0.26 ha of land to 

produce 1 t of oil, whereas soyabean, sunflower and 

rapeseed require 2.22, 2.00 and 1.52 ha, respectively, 

to produce the same (Yusof and Chan, 2004).

The oil palm nursery is the first link in the palm 

oil supply chain. From the economic point of view, 

the major significant aims of the nursery phase are 

to minimize the immature period in the field and 

to ensure the highest possible early yield, whilst 

at the same time to keep nursery costs as low as 

possible. The palms are grown in polybags in the 

nursery. In the pre-nursery, germinated seeds are 

sown in small polybags (15 cm × 23 cm, or 6” × 9”) 

until the seedlings are approximately three to four 

months, at which time they are transplanted into 

large polybags (38 cm × 45 cm, or 15” × 18”) and 

grown without protective cover until they are 12 to 

15 months old. In the main nursery, the polybags 

are arranged at 0.9 m × 0.9 m × 0.9 m, or 0.75 m ×

0.75 m × 0.75 m, measured centre to centre, for an 

equilateral triangular spacing. All seedlings are 

Keywords: Malaysia, oil palm plantation, fresh fruit bunches (FFB), life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle impact assessment (LCIA).

Date received: 11 October 2010; Sent for revision: 13 October 2010; Received in final form: 19 October 2010; Accepted: 20 October 2010.
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LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR OIL PALM FRESH FRUIT BUNCH PRODUCTION FROM CONTINUED LAND USE FOR OIL PALM PLANTED ON MINERAL SOIL (part 2)

irrigated with 0.5 litre water per day in the prenursery, and with 1.5-2.5 litres per day in the main 

nursery. Watering is normally done twice daily, 

before 11.00 am and after 4.00 pm. The seedlings 

are fertilized, and sprayed with pesticides for crop 

protection. Dithiocarbamate is the most commonly 

used fungicide. Fertilization is carried out manually. 

However, some nurseries use ‘fertigation’ for 

premature seedlings (<4 months), i.e. applying 

nutrients together with the irrigation water.

The seedlings are field-planted when they are 

12-15 months old at a density of 136-148 plants per 

hectare on mineral soils (assuming an average of 

142 ha-1). Before planting, the soil is ploughed and 

a legume cover sown, typically Mucuna bracteata. 

The cover crop prevents soil erosion and fixes 

nitrogen (N) from the atmosphere, an important 

source of N especially when the palms are young. 

Clear weeding is done in a circle around each palm 

to prevent weed competition. The weeded circle 

is maintained in the mature palms to allow access 

for harvesting and to facilitate the picking up of 

scattered loose fruits. These weeded circles are kept 

weed-free by spraying with herbicides.

The palm bears fruits within two to three years, 

and continues to do so for the next 20 to 25 years, 

producing one FFB every 10 to 21 days. Harvesting 

at every 10-15 days is done manually, using a sickle 

attached to an aluminium pole. Normally, the 

two fronds under the fruit bunch are pruned and 

stacked in neat piles between the palms as mulch. 

The harvested FFB are brought to the roadside 

where they are collected by 5- to 10-t lorries to be 

transported to the mill.

Fertilizers are sourced from suppliers and 

transported to the plantation by road. The most 

common fertilizers applied to oil palm are muriate 

of potash, ammonium sulphate, kieserite and rock 

phosphate. The fertilizers, brought by tractors from 

the store to the field, are broadcast manually.

Herbicides are usually sprayed only when 

the palms are immature and their canopy has not 

covered the soil surface fully to prevent light from 

reaching the weeds. Most of the herbicides used 

are water-based formulations, and are manually 

applied using knapsack sprayers. Insecticides are 

the major pesticides used in oil palm, but their use 

is minimal. The application of phosphorus-based 

or organophosphate insecticides for bagworm 

control is very specific, being done through manual 

trunk injection. Often, it is possible to reduce the 

use of insecticides and rodenticides by practicing 

integrated pest management with components of 

biological control, such as the use of barn owls, 

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), etc.

Oil palm is replanted after 25 to 30 years when 

yield becomes increasingly poor and there is 

difficulty in harvesting the tall palms. The palms 

are felled and chipped, and the chips applied 

in the plantation as a nutrient source for the 

replants. The felled palms contain about 95 t of 

dry weight per hectare (Khalid et al., 2000; 2009), 

and will decompose within two years. Due to the 

undesirable emissions from fires, open burning 

has been prohibited in Malaysia since 1989, and 

zero burning is currently being practiced for land 

preparation prior to replanting.

METHODOLOGY

The LCA study was conducted according to the 

ISO standards on LCA described in ISO 14040 

and ISO 14044 (ISO, 2006a, b). LCI and LCIA were 

performed using SimaPro 7 (Netherlands). This 

software contains US and European databases 

on a wide variety of materials, in addition to an 

assortment of European- and US-developed impact 

assessment methodologies. The methodology 

selected to conduct LCIA was the Eco-indicator 99 

(Goedkoop and Spriensma, 1999).

Scope and Boundaries

The system was defined by a cradle-to-gate 

approach, starting from land conversion and 

transplanting of seedlings to the plantation until 

FFB are delivered to the mills during the 25 years’ 

lifetime of the oil palm (Figure 1).

The agricultural operations considered under 

this study were divided into four stages during 

the palm’s life cycle. They are (i) the conversion 

stage from previous land use, (ii) the immature 

plantation (not yet bearing FFB), (iii) the mature 

plantation, and (iv) the replanting stage for the next 

generation. The data collected were applied as an 

average of the four stages over a lifetime of 25 years. 

Only carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) 

emissions were considered for global warming 

potential (GWP) assessment.

Functional Unit

The reference flows (input and output) of this 

cradle-to-gate LCA study were based on a mass 

basis (functional unit of 1 t) of FFB produced.

Items Excluded from the Study

Disposal of polybags which are brought from 

the nursery to the plantation during transplanting 

was not taken into account due to the difficulty in 

getting a suitable model or representative data. It 

was assumed that the polybags are collected and 

sold back to the factory for recycling.

Data on the inputs and outputs were gathered 

from plantations on mineral soils only. LCA for oil 
Journal of Oil Palm Research 22 (december 2010)

890

palm on peat was not included in this study as the 

detailed methodology on peat, which includes a 

study on C stock, peat oxidation and C emissions, 

is currently being carried out by the Tropical Peat 

Institute (TROPI) of MPOB. The complete LCA 

study on peat will be reported once the data from 

peat are made available. With the available data, the 

input and output data as an indicator at the national 

level will then be computed.

The impact of heavy metals is also small and 

regarded as insignificant to the environment. 

GHG emissions from the production of machinery, 

equipment and the construction of buildings were 

also excluded as they are minor compared to the 

overall emissions in the system.

In this LCA study, starting from cradle-to-gate, 

all operations in the plantations, including 

intermittent transportation of inputs and products 

by road were considered relevant unless excluded 

based on the system boundary definition criteria 

listed in Table 1.

Sources of Data

Input data required are on materials or energy 

that go into the cultivation stage, while outputs 

are emissions to air, water and soil, during the 

production of 1 t FFB. The cultivation stage for 

oil palm includes activities in the field for the 

immature/mature palms. Most data on cultivation 

practices in Malaysia have been collected through 

surveys. The yield of FFB is the average yield from 

the survey.

The foreground data which describe the specific 

production sub-systems included in the production 

of FFB were obtained through responses to 

questionnaires, observations, communication by 

telephone and interviews, and by on-site verification 

of the data. Data gaps were filled by information 

obtained from scientific literature and public 

databases, or calculated using published models.

Emissions at the Plantation

Emissions from the oil palm plantation are 

determined by the establishment of nutrient 

balances, and by the use of models for the emissions 

of N2O, NO, NH3, N2, NO3, P (Schdmit, 2007) and 

for CO2 from energy generated from the use of fossil 

fuels. The models are described by IPCC (2000; 

2007), FAO and IFA (2001), and Vinther and Hansen 

(2004).

GHG emissions from the production of 

fertilizers and pesticides used in the plantation are 

determined by the Ecoinvent methodology in the 

Simapro version 7.0 software, while total emissions 

from usage of pesticides are based on the EPA 

report (EPA report, 1994) where it is assumed that 

an applied pesticide evenly distributed emissions 

to air, water and soil (Schdmidt, 2007). The various 

Figure 1. System boundary for fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production.
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LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR OIL PALM FRESH FRUIT BUNCH PRODUCTION FROM CONTINUED LAND USE FOR OIL PALM PLANTED ON MINERAL SOIL (part 2)

GHG emissions from the plantation are then 

summed up per hectare, and converted to per 1 t 

of FFB produced by dividing the emissions by the 

FFB yield.

The three most important GHG determined 

in oil palm plantations are CO2, N2O and CH4. 

The concept of GWP is applied to compare these 

GHG following the guidelines of IPCC. The GWP 

for CO2 is 1 kg CO2-eq, for CH4 is 23 kg CO2-eq 

and for N2O is 296 kg CO2-eq. The other main 

GHG (hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and 

sulphurhexafluoride), although their GWP are high, 

were not taken into account as they are insignificant 

in FFB production chains.

TABLE 1. SYSTEM BOUNDARY DEFINITION CRITERIA

Category Included

Excluded

Difficult 

to obtain 

representative 

data

Part of a 

different 

system

Not directly 

relevant to 

scope and goal 

of study

Production, maintenance 

and replacement of capital 

equipment

-    -

Production of kieserite 

fertilizer, borate fertilizer, 

NPK compound fertilizer

-   - -

Indirect land use change - -   -

Disposal of polybags at the 

plantation

- -   -

Production of urea  - - - -

Production of ammonium 

sulphate

 - - - -

Production of phosphate rock  - - - -

Production of muriate of 

potash

 - - - -

Impact of heavy metals to the 

environment

-   - -

Usage of pesticides  - - - -

Capital goods  but too small - - - -

Production of plantation 

pesticides 

 - - - -

Transportation of raw 

materials from the port to 

plantation 

 - - - -

Transportation of FFB to mill  - - - -

Plantation input e.g. fertilizers, 

pesticides

 - - - -

Seedling from the nursery  - - - -

Land use change Only considerred 

on continued land 

use with oil palm

- - - -

Energy use in machinery 

in the plantation

 - - - -

Output to air  - - - -

Output to water  - - - -

Output to soil  - - - -
Journal of Oil Palm Research 22 (december 2010)

892

Method for LCIA

The Eco-indicator 99 methodology was 

adopted. This methodology uses the damageoriented approach or end-point approach for 

impact assessment. Impact categories considered in 

this methodology include carcinogens, respiratory 

organics and inorganics, climate change, ionizing 

radiation, ozone layer depletion, ecotoxicity, 

acidification/eutrophication, land use, minerals 

and fossil fuels.

It should be noted that the applied LCIA method 

for land use and biodiversity was not included 

due to the assumption of continued land use from 

previously old oil palm stands.

Uncertainty of Results

As the study considered continued land use 

from former oil palm plantations, no deforestation 

had taken place. The sensitivity analysis was 

estimated based on individual parameters for 

FFB production for which there were large ranges 

and deviations from the LCA results, such as FFB 

yield, N fertilizer use, and emission factor for the 

production of N fertilizers and diesel use as shown 

in Table 2. It was shown that N fertilizer use is the 

most sensitive parameter, especially in having a 

global warming effect.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Life Cycle Inventory (LCI)

Table 3 summarizes the material and energy 

inputs and outputs associated with the production 

of FFB that were used to carry out LCIA. The LCIA 

results presented in this article are based on 1 t of 

FFB produced in the plantation.

Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)

The characterization and weighted results for all 

the scenarios studied are for the system boundary 

which starts from the nursery right up to the 

production of FFB in the plantation. The system 

boundary includes the nursery and the plantation 

(practicing continued land use).

Characterized Results

Figure 2 shows the characterized results 

contributed by inputs used for the production of 

1 t FFB in the plantation. The characterized results 

indicate the contribution by the inputs at the 

plantation in all eleven impact categories of impact 

assessment.

Weighted Results

The characterized results are weighted and are 

shown in Figure 3. Based on the weighted results 

for producing 1 t FFB from continued land use 

(replanting), the significant impact categories are 

fossil fuels, respiratory inorganics, climate change 

and acidification (eutrophication). The land use 

(nature occupation) impact category was not 

included because it was assumed that the land 

continued to be planted with oil palm.

Environmental Hotspots

For the production of FFB in the plantation, the 

weighted results using Eco-indicator 99 show that 

TABLE 2. INPUT DATA: PARAMETERS AND THEIR RANGES FOR SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

Parameters Unit Low Base High Source

FFB production t FFB ha-1 yr-1 17 20 31 FRIM, IPCC

N fertilizer use t N ha-1 yr-1 50 73 120 *Survey

EF for AS fertilizer production kg CO2 eq/kg N 0.9 2.7 7.6 Syahrinuddin (2005)

EF for urea fertilizer production kg CO2 eq/kg N 0.9 1.3 4

EF N2O from managed soil Kg N2O-N/t N 3 10 30 Syahrinuddin (2005)

Diesel consumption Gj ha-1 yr-1 2.1 3.2 5.1 Syahrinuddin (2005)

TABLE 3. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 

PLANTATIONS USED IN THE STUDY

Plantation characteristics

FFB yield (t ha-1 yr-1) 20.7

Planting density 

(palm ha-1)

142

Soil characteristics Mineral soils

Plantation lifetime 25 years

No of plantations 102

Total area 1.1 million ha (93.7 

% mature and 6.3 % 

immature)
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LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR OIL PALM FRESH FRUIT BUNCH PRODUCTION FROM CONTINUED LAND USE FOR OIL PALM PLANTED ON MINERAL SOIL (part 2) mPt

Carcinogens Resp. organics Resp. inorganics Climate

change

Radiation Ozone layer Ecotoxicity Acidification/

eutrophication

Land use Minerals Fossil fuels

4

3.5

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

0

FFB production (continued land use) September 2010

Input of N fertilizer

Ammonium sulphate, as N, at regional storehouse/RER U

Phosphate rock, as P2O5, beneficiated, dry, at plant/MA U

Glyphosate, at regional storehouse/RER U Feb 2010

Bipyridylium-compounds, at regional storehouse/RER U Feb 2010

Organophosphorus-compounds, at regional storehouse/RER U

2,4-D, at regional storehouse/RER U

Reinforcing steel, at plant/RER U

Tractor, production/CH/I U

Nursery with pesticide emissions

Ammonium nitrate, as N, at regional storehouse/RER U

Urea, as N, at regional storehouse/RER U

Potassium chloride, as K2O, at regional storehouse/RER U

[sulfonyl]urea-compounds, at regional storehouse/RER U Feb 2010

Pyretroid-compounds, at regional storehouse/RER U Feb 2010

Carbofuran, at regional storehouse/RER U Feb 2010

Pesticide unspecified, at regional storehouse/RER U

Fibre cement corrugated slab, at plant/CH U

Agricultural machinery, general, production/CH/I U

Analyzing 1 kg FFB production (continued land use) September 2010, Method: Eco-indicator 99 (H) V2.03 / Europe EI 99 H/A/ weighting.

the most significant impacts are in the following 

order:

•	 fossil fuels;

•	 respiratory inorganics;

•	 climate change;

•	 ecotoxicity; and

•	 acidification.

The impacts on respiratory inorganics, 

fossil fuels, climate change and acidification/

eutophication come from the production and use 

of the various fertilizers, especially N fertilizers, 

and from the use of field machinery (tractors) 

during operations in the plantation and the use 

of transport vehicles bringing the materials to the 

plantations and transporting FFB to the mills. The 

impact on toxicity mainly comes from the use of 

pesticides, especially in the nursery. The fossil 

fuels, respiratory inorganics and climate change 

impact categories relate to air emissions while 

the acidification/eutrophication impact category 

relates mainly to water emission.

Acidification potential is explained mainly by 

emissions of ammonia into air, nitrates leaching 

into ground water, and land provision for oil palm 

cultivation. In the case of FFB production, the 

acidification potential is mainly due to nitrogen 

oxide emissions. A significant contribution also 

comes from ammonia emissions to air in the 

plantation.

Figure 2. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) for the production of 1 t fresh fruit bunches (FFB) from continued land 

use – characterized results.

Figure 3. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) for the production of 1 t fresh fruit bunches (FFB) from continued land 

use – weighted results.

%

Carcinogens Resp. organics Resp. inorganics Climate

change

Radiation Ozone layer Ecotoxicity Acidification/

eutrophication

Land use Minerals Fossil fuels

120

110

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

FFB production (continued land use) September 2010

Input of N fertilizer

Ammonium sulphate, as N, at regional storehouse/RER U

Phosphate rock, as P2O5, beneficiated, dry, at plant/MA U

Glyphosate, at regional storehouse/RER U Feb 2010

Bipyridylium-compounds, at regional storehouse/RER U Feb 2010

Organophosphorus-compounds, at regional storehouse/RER U

2,4-D, at regional storehouse/RER U

Reinforcing steel, at plant/RER U

Tractor, production/CH/I U

Nursery with pesticide emissions

Ammonium nitrate, as N, at regional storehouse/RER U

Urea, as N, at regional storehouse/RER U

Potassium chloride, as K2O, at regional storehouse/RER U

[sulfonyl]urea-compounds, at regional storehouse/RER U Feb 2010

Pyretroid-compounds, at regional storehouse/RER U Feb 2010

Carbofuran, at regional storehouse/RER U Feb 2010

Pesticide unspecified, at regional storehouse/RER U

Fibre cement corrugated slab, at plant/CH U

Agricultural machinery, general, production/CH/I U

Analyzing 1 kg FFB production (continued land use) September 2010, Method: Eco-indicator 99 (H) V2.03 / Europe EI 99 H/A/ characterization.
Journal of Oil Palm Research 22 (december 2010)

894

CONCLUSION

The results presented in this study reflect the current 

management practices used in oil palm plantations, 

and they are only valid under these circumstances. 

The major hotspots identified in the plantations are 

N fertilizer use, the production of N fertilizer, and 

energy use in transport. Improvement options exist 

to mitigate the environmental burden, which among 

others are: by applying more organic sources of N 

fertilizer and increasing the yield of FFB. Returning 

the nutrient-rich slurry from the palm oil mill 

effluent (POME) treatment ponds to the field or 

applying compost (from empty fruit bunches and 

POME) as fertilizer, will help reduce N2O emission 

from inorganic fertilizer application. Increasing the 

yield of FFB can be achieved by growing the latest 

improved oil palm planting materials which have 

the potential for increased fruit production. More 

improvements can be obtained by disseminating to 

the growers information on the best management 

practices in relation to reducing environmental 

impacts during the production of FFB.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We kindly acknowledge the oil palm plantations 

in Malaysia for provision of data. We are grateful 

to Director-General of MPOB, for permission to 

publish this article.

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