FERTILISER, HERBICIDE & PESTICIDE USE

Use of fertilisers

Achieving maximum palm fruit yields with minimal cost, GHG emissions and water pollution requires careful management of our inorganic fertiliser inputs

Fertiliser application is optimised by analysing the nutrient content of systematically selected oil palm frond samples, supplemented by visual inspection of palm canopies and soil sampling. The analysis is conducted by an in-house agronomy team and verified by independent agronomy consultants. To overcome a nutrient deficiency detected in 2015, following some reductions from historic levels in annual inorganic fertiliser applications over the period 2012 to 2014, applications of inorganic fertilisers were returned to, and are now maintained at, their historic levels. The application of inorganic fertiliser increased between 2020 and 2021 from 26,232 tonnes (0.7 tonnes/hectare) to 32,360 tonnes (0.8 tonnes/hectare), owing partly to continuing high levels of FFB production and partly to the carryover of applications from the previous year due to very wet conditions at the end of 2020. Additionally, analysis of oil palm leaf and rachis (the midrib or spine of the frond) samples taken in 2020 indicated the need for moderately increasing the application of inorganic fertilisers in 2021.

The group seeks to optimise the quantity of organic and inorganic fertiliser that it applies and supplements inorganic applications with empty fruit bunches (EFB), a waste product from the mills. The application of EFB for mulching provides the palms with nutrients and the soil with organic matter which helps to retain moisture, and promote beneficial soil biodiversity and fertility. Increasing the organic carbon content of soils this way also improves their resilience to periods of dry weather which may otherwise initiate stress in the palms.

Use of pesticides

Through routine monitoring by the group’s environment department of conditions within the plantation blocks, the group seeks to identify, and potentially improve, pest management through biological control to reduce the use of chemically based pesticides.

The group’s long-established integrated pest management system aims to prevent pest outbreaks by boosting biological control. To optimise natural pest control, REA has planted species of plants known to attract natural predators of the major leaf eating pests of oil palms, including Bagworms and Nettle Caterpillars. These species (Turnera subulata, Turnera Ulmifolia, Antigonon leptopus) are planted at regular intervals along roads and on the corners of oil palm sub blocks throughout the group’s plantations. Whilst introducing barn owls is a common strategy for controlling rodents in oil palm plantations, REA has not found this to be necessary. It is thought that the population of other natural rat predators, such as leopard cats, is sufficient to control the rat population. The presence and distribution of leopard cats and other mammals is monitored by REA’s conservation team using camera traps.

When an outbreak does occur, chemical intervention may be necessary, but chemicals are only used to control pests as a last resort. REA has an early warning system in place to ensure that pests are detected and action taken before a problem escalates. The harvesting teams in each division are tasked with monitoring the oil palms for any sign of pest damage. If signs of a pest outbreak are detected, the group’s agronomy team conducts a thorough pest census immediately to identify the species involved, the scale of the outbreak and the treatment required. Wherever possible mechanical or natural means are used to halt a pest outbreak and mitigate damage to the oil palms. Since 2005, REA has only experienced a few minor pest outbreaks, all of which have been successfully controlled by targeted response commensurate with the level of the outbreak.

Where it is necessary to use chemicals to control weeds or pests, precautions are taken to protect the health and safety of employees and the environment. The medical team conducts blood and lung tests twice a year to check for chemical exposure in workers who come into regular contact with pesticides. If workers test positive for pesticide exposure, they are rotated out of spraying and into other roles. In response to growing pressure for palm oil producers to phase out Paraquat due to fears that improper handling of this herbicide may endanger the health of workers, REA ceased to use this chemical in 2013. Instead, a less hazardous glufosinate ammonium-based herbicide called Basta is used.

REA routinely monitors pesticide usage (active ingredients, litres/hectare) to evaluate the effectiveness of the application and to calculate the chemical load on the environment. For the period 2020-2021, the group used pesticides containing the following active ingredients:

• Acephate
• Kumatetralil
• 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid
• Ammonium glufosinate
• Fluroxypyr 1-methylheptyl ester
• Glyphosate isopropylamine 480g/l
• Glyphosate isopropylamine 490g/l
• Metsulfuron-methyl
• Triclopyr
• Alkyl polyethylene glycol ether
• Indaziflam
• Haloxyfop-R-methyl ester

Between 2020 and 2021, the average use of pesticides decreased from 0.20 to 0.10 litres/hectare as shown below.