4 A plantation manager in West Africa plans to establish a new oil palm plantation on 50 hectares of cleared land. (a) Describe three soil conditions that a...

(a) Three suitable soil conditions for oil palm [3]

Any three:

• Deep, well-drained soil that allows the extensive root system of the palm to develop without waterlogging [1].
• Loamy texture with high organic matter content, providing a good balance of drainage and nutrient supply [1].
• Slightly acidic to neutral pH, between 4.0 and 6.5 [1].
• Good water-holding capacity to maintain moisture between rainfall events [1].
• Fertile soil with adequate levels of essential nutrients [1].

(b) Importance of using nursery-raised seedlings [4]

Raising seedlings in a nursery before transplanting gives several advantages over direct field sowing:

1. Seedlings can be screened for vigour and freedom from disease before transplanting, so only the best plants reach the plantation [1].
2. Seedlings develop a strong, well-established root system in the controlled nursery environment before facing field conditions [1].
3. Germination rates are monitored in the nursery, so failures are identified early and replaced [1].
4. This reduces wastage of planting positions in the field from failed germination, ensuring a uniform, fully stocked plantation from the start [1].

(c) Harvesting and processing oil palm fruit to obtain crude palm oil [5]

1. Ripe fruit bunches are identified by the colour change of the fruitlets from green to orange-red, and by loose fruits dropping at the base of the bunch [1].
2. Bunches are cut from the palm using a harvesting knife or chisel attached to a long pole (for tall palms) and transported to the processing mill [1].
3. At the mill, bunches are sterilised with pressurised steam to soften the fruit and loosen the fruitlets from the bunch stalk [1].
4. Fruitlets are stripped from the bunch mechanically, then crushed and pressed to extract the crude palm oil from the mesocarp [1].
5. The extracted oil is clarified by heating and settling to separate water, fibre and other impurities, producing clean crude palm oil [1].

(d) Three reasons oil palm is an important cash crop for West Africa [3]

1. Palm oil is in high demand on international markets, so exports earn significant foreign exchange revenue for producing countries [1].
2. The crop provides employment for large numbers of workers on plantations, in processing mills and in the transport chain [1].
3. By-products such as palm kernel oil, palm kernel cake (used as animal feed) and empty fruit bunches (used as fuel or mulch) have additional commercial value [1].
4. Oil palm gives one of the highest yields of oil per hectare compared with any other oil crop, making efficient use of land [1].