JUNE 2004

VARIABLE-RATE FERTILIZER
APPLICATOR FOR OIL PALM
by: WAHID, B O; RAHIM, A S; TARMIZI, A M
and BASRI, M W
223
MPOB TT No. 216

MPOB INFORMATION SERIES ISSN 1511-7871

urrent commodities market

C
Fertilizer application is the most costly aspect
competition and agriculture of oil palm production, and PA practices was
regulations are forcing the oil palm employed to ensure that the fertilizer is
industry to seek more competitive efficiently and judiciously utilized on a site-
management methods to produce specific basis for optimum return. The hardware
palm oil. With the development of geographic required to implement variable-rate fertilizer
information system (GIS), global positioning application varies according to situation and
system (GPS), variable-rate technology (VRT) type of fertilizer used. Generally, a variable-rate
and remote sensing technology (RS), many oil fertilizer applicator is made up of three
palm plantations in this country have started important components; the calibrator or
adopting precision agriculture (PA) or controller, GPS and variable-rate applicator.
technologies related to it to improve their
productivity and profitability (Wahid et al., 2000). OBJECTIVES
Robert (1997) defined PA as an information and
technology-based agricultural management A study was carried out to evaluate the fertilizer
system used to identify, analyse and manage soil applicators variable-rate system. The objectives
spatial and temporal variability within fields for were to:
optimum profitability, sustainability and establish procedures of map-based variable-
protection of the environment. In other words, rate fertilizer application for oil palm;
the soil has to be treated according to natural evaluate the performance of a variable-rate
rather than artificial boundaries such as blocks fertilizer applicator applying different types
or fields. of compound fertilizer; and
determine the accuracy of the basic GPS
VRT is one of the important components of receiver in positioning the fertilizer
precision agriculture. There are two categories placements.
of VRT; map-based and sensor-based. The map-
based VRT is more applicable for the oil palm. It METHODOLOGY
involves creating of variable-rate prescription
maps that describe the varying amounts of An evaluation study on the fertilizer applicators
agriculture inputs needed within the field. variable-rate system was carried out at Block 10,
During the application, the controller and the MPOB Research Station, Bangi, Selangor. It was
applicator vary the application rate of agriculture conducted on 1.3 ha of a slightly sloping site.
inputs according to the variable-rate prescription The palms were planted in 1997 with a spacing
map information installed in the controller. This of 9 m x 9 m x 9 m. The harvesting path and the
technology requires accurate, reliable and high frond pile were created between alternate palm
resolution variable-rate applicator to apply the rows. The variable-rate applicator was pulled
variable-rate inputs successfully. along the harvesting path to apply the fertilizer.

Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Malaysia
P. O. Box 10620, 50720 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: 03-89259155, 89259775, Website: http://mpob.gov.my Telefax: 03-89259446
The study site was mapped using a basic GPS applicator with a twin-disc spreader was
receiver and variable-rate fertilizer map was evaluated in this study. A 75 hp tractor was used
created using Loris software (Figure 1). The Farm to pull the applicator during the variable-rate
Site Mate Ver. 7.0 software was installed into the fertilizer application. A Calibrator 2003
portable PC. The portable PC was used to (bogballe), basic GPS receiver (HAiCOM) and
download the variable-rate fertilizer map and portable PC (Compaq) were the main
link the information to the variable-rate components used with the applicator. The
applicator calibrator during the fertilizer overall hardware and software of the variable-
application. rate fertilizer application system and their cost
are shown in Table. 1. The Calibrator 2003 was
The variable-rate applicator system was the main component and used the variable-rate
configured for map-based VRT. A pull-type fertilizer map information from the portable PC
Kemira bogballe M1 variable-rate fertilizer to vary the applicator fertilizer application rate
Variable-Rate Applicator Evaluation Plot
as a function of field position. The GPS was
attached to the portable PC to determine the
instantaneous position of the applicator as it
operated in the field.

Two types of compound fertilizer, MPOB F1

(compact) (Figure 2a) and MPOB F2 (granular)
(Figure 2b) were evaluated for their suitability
for variable-rate application. The fertilizers were
applied at three different rates, 200, 500 and 800
kg ha-1.

APPLICATION OF RESULTS

Application Pattern

Earlier evaluation using granular fertilizer

indicated that the total spread width of the
applicator was 27 m; i.e. 13.5 m on each side of
Fertilizer Rate (kg ha-1) the applicator. The distribution patterns of the
fertilizer showed that about 80% of the fertilizer
was distributed at the frond pile; that is 7.5
10.5 m from the spreader on either side (Juhani
Figure 1. The variable-rate fertilizer map. Uoti and Kenneth Jacob, 2001). Based on these

TABLE 1. ESTIMATED COST OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE OF THE VARIABLE-RATE

FERTILIZER APPLICATION SYSTEM

No. Items Cost (RM)

1. Tractor (60 hp) 60 000

2. Variable-rate applicator (inclusive of controller/calibrator) 25 000
3. Basic Global Positioning System 1 140
4. Portable PC 2 850
5. GIS software for desktop/laptop personal computer 8 800
6. GIS software for portable personal computer 4 700

Total cost 102 490

 for variable-rate application than the compact
compound fertilizer. For the three application
rates tested; 200, 500, and 800 kg ha-1, only the
application of 800 kg ha-1 compact fertilizer was
significantly lower than the targeted rate
(Figure 4).

GPS Receiver Accuracy

The palm canopy, multipath and many other

Figure 2a. Compact compound fertilizer. factors could cause errors in the GPS receiver
readings and fertilizer placements. These errors
had caused the applicator to wrongly place the
fertilizer either outside or short of the variable-
rate area boundary. The descriptive statistics of
the GPS receiver errors are shown in Table 2.
Using a differential GPS receiver and real-time
GPS reading error correction, is expected to

Granular fertilizer
Application rate (kg ha-1)

Compact fertilizer

Figure 2b. Granular compound fertilizer.

results, it is recommended that the application

of fertilizer in the oil palm field using the
applicator be carried out in alternate harvesting
paths (Figure 3).

Application Rate 800 500 200

-1
Fertilizer rate (kg ha )
Application rate results indicated that the
granular compound fertilizer was more suitable Figure 4. Variable-rate fertilizer accuracy.

Figure 3. Recommended fertilizer application pattern in the oil palm field.

 TABLE 2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM
(GPS) RECEIVER READING ERRORS

Parameter Range Minimum Maximum Mean Std. deviation Variance

GPS Receiver 8.75 0.33 9.08 4.22 2.64 6.98

Errors (m)

improve the fertilizer placement accuracy by the REFERENCES

variable-rate fertilizer applicator.
JUHANI UOTT and KENNETH JACOB (2001).
CONCLUSION New technologies for improved nutrition
management in oil palm plantations. Proc. of the
The variable-rate fertilizer applicator hardware 2001 PIPOC International Palm Oil Congress.
and software used in this study had successfully MPOB, Bangi. p.159-164.
executed the variable-rate technique. The present
map-based variable-rate procedure that has ROBERT, P C (1997). Remote Sensing: a potential
been developed can be used to apply the powerful technique for precision agriculture.
variable-rate fertilizer in the oil palm field. Workshop on Precision Technology for
Results of the study indicated that the granular Plantation Management. Asgaard Information
compound fertilizer was more suitable for Services.
variable-rate application than the compact
compound fertilizer. The fertilizer placement WAHID, B O; CHAN, K W and TARMIZI, A M
accuracy by the variable-rate fertilizer applicator (2000). Precision agriculture practices:
can be improved by using a differential GPS development in oil palm plantation. Paper
receiver and real-time GPS reading error presented at the Precision Farming Seminar at
correction. Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor. 17 pp.

For more information kindly contact:

Director-General
MPOB
P. O. Box 10620
50720 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 03-89259155, 89259775
Website: http://mpob.gov.my
Telefax: 03-89259446