KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Bernama) -- Austral Enterprises Bhd is hoping thatits innovative agronomic practice of mixing water and fertilser trapped insilt pits will help enhance the production of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) onoil palm estates.The company has embarked on marrying its expertise in water and fertilisermanagement by mixing both water and fertiliser in the silt pits which hadbeen dug on hilly terrain to prevent water run off.

Austral, whose parent company is Island & Peninsular Bhd, hopes that themixture can be gradually absorbed by the roots of oil palms to help boostyield.

"The sub-soil application of fertilisers which we pioneered eight yearsago has proven a great success and is emulated by other oil palm growers,"the company says in its 2002 annual report.

The company says the sub-soil application of fertilisers has reducedfertiliser waste by a sizeable 30 percent by limiting the amount thatnormally gets washed away by using surface fertiliser applications.

It adds that achieving higher yield per hectare remains the chief focus ofits research and development efforts.

"One of the crucial factors that can affect the yield is the amount ofwater the palms receive."

For example, its Dulang Estate in Sarawak sits chiefly on peat and thissoil often has a tendency to dry out quickly or get waterlogged. Tocounter this problem, Austral has installed a network of sluices and weirsto help balance the water intake of the palms.

But on estates in Peninsular Malaysia, Austral says the emphasis is onwater conservation because of the lower rainfall and the more porous soil.

Hence, Austral has dug silt pits to collect the run-off rainwater andenable the water to seep into the ground and be absorbed by the rootsystem gradually.--BERNAMA

(The informations and opinions expressed in this article represent theviews of the author only. They should not be seen as necessarilyreflecting the views of Palm News)