Elaeis guineensis

E. guineensis is monocotyledonous.{{cite journal | last1=Neale | first1=David B. | last2=Martínez-García | first2=Pedro J. | last3=De La Torre | first3=Amanda R. | last4=Montanari | first4=Sara | last5=Wei | first5=Xiao-Xin | title=Novel Insights into Tree Biology and Genome Evolution as Revealed Through Genomics | journal=Annual Review of Plant Biology | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=68 | issue=1 | date=2017-04-28 | issn=1543-5008 | doi=10.1146/annurev-arplant-042916-041049 | pages=457–483| pmid=28226237 | doi-access=free }} Mature palms are single-stemmed and grow to {{convert|20|m|sp=us}} tall. The leaves are pinnate and reach {{convert|3-5|m|abbr=on|frac=2}} long. A young palm produces about 30 leaves a year. Established palms over 10 years produce about 20 leaves a year. The flowers are produced in dense clusters; each individual flower is small, with three sepals and three petals.

The palm fruit takes 5–6 months to develop from pollination to maturity. It is reddish, about the size of a large plum, and grows in large bunches. Each fruit is made up of an oily, fleshy outer layer (the pericarp), with a single seed (the palm kernel), also rich in oil. When ripe, each bunch of fruit weighs between {{convert|5|and|30|kg|lb|abbr=on}} depending on the age of the palm tree.

File:Elaeis guineensis fruits on tree.jpg

File:World Production Of Primary Crops, Main Commodities.svg

For each hectare of oil palm, which is harvested year-round, the annual production averages 20 tonnes {{Citation needed|date=September 2013}} of fruit yielding {{nowrap|4,000 kg}} of palm oil and {{nowrap|750 kg}} {{Citation needed|date=September 2013}} of seed kernels yielding {{nowrap|500 kg}} of high-quality palm kernel oil, as well as {{nowrap|600 kg}} of kernel meal. Kernel meal is processed for use as livestock feed.{{Cite web| title = About the Malaysian Palm Oil Industry |publisher=Malaysian Palm Oil Board|url=http://www.palmoilworld.org/about_malaysian-industry.html}}

All modern, commercial planting material consists of tenera palms or DxP hybrids, which are obtained by crossing thickshelled dura with shell-less pisifera. Although common commercial germinated seed is as thick-shelled as the dura mother palm, the resulting palm will produce thin-shelled tenera fruit. An alternative to germinated seed, once constraints to mass production are overcome, are tissue-cultured or "clonal" palms, which provide true copies of high-yielding DxP palms.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

Size: 1,800 megabase. First sequence available in 2013.

Diploid, with a diploid number of 2n = 32.

The Asian effective population size is very limited. The cultivars comprising cultivation in Asia descend from only four trees, which are themselves probably the result of a selfing of one parent.{{cite journal | last1=Drenth | first1=André | last2=Guest | first2=David I. | title=Fungal and Oomycete Diseases of Tropical Tree Fruit Crops | journal=Annual Review of Phytopathology | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=54 | issue=1 | date=2016-08-04 | issn=0066-4286 | doi=10.1146/annurev-phyto-080615-095944 | pages=373–395| pmid=27491435 }}

{{expand section|Cross-breeding E. guineensis with E. oleifera should be included|date=September 2012}}

Unlike other relatives, oil palms do not produce offshoots; propagation is by sowing the seeds.

Several varieties and forms of E. guineensis have been selected that have different characteristics. These include:{{cite web|url=http://www.tropicos.org/Name/2400016?tab=subordinatetaxa|title=Tropicos}}

:::::*Elais guineensis fo. dura

:::::*Elais guineensis var. pisifera

:::::*Elais guineensis fo. tenera

Before the Second World War, selection work had started in the Deli dura population in Malaya. Pollen was imported from Africa, and DxT and DxP crosses were made. Segregation of fruit forms in crosses made in the 1950s was often incorrect. In the absence of a good marker gene, there was no way of knowing whether control of pollination was adequate.

After the work of Beirnaert and Vanderweyen (1941), it became feasible to monitor the efficacy of controlled pollination. From 1963 until the introduction of the palm-pollinating weevil Elaeidobius kamerunicus in 1982, contamination in Malaysia's commercial plantings was generally low. Thrips, the main pollinating agent at that time, apparently rarely gained access to bagged female inflorescences. However, E. kamerunicus is much more persistent, and after it was introduced, Deli dura contamination{{clarify|date=September 2012}} became a significant problem.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} This problem apparently persisted for much of the 1980s, but in a 1991 comparison of seed sources, contamination had been reduced to below 2%, indicating control had been restored.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

A 1992 study at a trial plot in Banting, Selangor, revealed the "yield of Deli dura oil palms after four generations of selection was 60% greater than that of the unselected base population. Crossing the dura and pisifera to give the thin-shelled tenera fruit type improved partitioning of dry matter within the fruit, giving a 30% increase in oil yield at the expense of shell, without changing total dry matter production."{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF00039396 |first1=R. H. V. |last1=Corley |first2=C. H. |last2=Lee |date=April 1992 |title=The physiological basis for genetic improvement of oil palm in Malaysia |journal=Euphytica|volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=179–84 | s2cid=35665288 }}

Cros et al., 2014 find genomic selection is very effective in this crop.

:{{cite journal|year=2019|issue=5|publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC|volume=15|last1=Nyouma|first1=Achille|last2=Bell|first2=Joseph Martin|last3=Jacob|first3=Florence|last4=Cros|first4=David|journal=Tree Genetics & Genomes|issn=1614-2942|s2cid=199577081|doi=10.1007/s11295-019-1373-2|title=From mass selection to genomic selection: one century of breeding for quantitative yield components of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)}}

:

:{{cite journal|year=2020|issue=5|publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC|volume=16|last1=Savadi|first1=Siddanna|last2=Muralidhara|first2=Bommanahalli M.|last3=Preethi|first3=Palpandian|journal=Tree Genetics & Genomes|issn=1614-2942|s2cid=220980947|doi=10.1007/s11295-020-01453-z|title=Advances in genomics of cashew tree: molecular tools and strategies for accelerated breeding}}

:

:These reviews cite this research.

:

:{{cite journal|year=2014|issue=3|publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC|last1=Cros|first1=David|last2=Denis|first2=Marie|last3=Sanchez|first3=Leopoldo|last4=Cochard|first4=Benoit|last5=Flori|first5=Albert|last6=Durand-Gasselin|first6=Tristan|last7=Nouy|first7=Bruno|last8=Omore|first8=Alphonse|last9=Pomies|first9=Virginie|last10=Riou|first10=Virginie|last11=Suryana|first11=Edyana|last12=Bouvet|first12=Jean-Marc|pages=397–410|volume=128|journal=Theoretical and Applied Genetics|issn=0040-5752|s2cid=17161339|pmid=25488416|doi=10.1007/s00122-014-2439-z|title=Genomic selection prediction accuracy in a perennial crop: case study of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)}}

In 2013, the gene responsible for controlling shell thickness was discovered, making it possible to verify tenera (DxP) status while palms are still in the nursery.{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/nature12356 |first1=R. |last1=Singh |first2=R. |last2=Sambanthamurthi |first3=R. |last3=Martienssen |date=August 2013 |title=The oil palm SHELL gene controls oil yield and encodes a homologue of SEEDSTICK |journal=Nature |volume=500 |issue=7462 |pages=340–344|display-authors=etal|bibcode=2013Natur.500..340S |pmid=23883930 |pmc=4209285}}

The {{visible anchor|DEFICIENS}} gene regulates floral architecture. One of its epialleles, {{visible anchor|Bad Karma}}, reduces yield.{{cite journal | last1=Stange | first1=Madlen | last2=Barrett | first2=Rowan D. H. | last3=Hendry | first3=Andrew P. | title=The importance of genomic variation for biodiversity, ecosystems and people | journal=Nature Reviews Genetics | publisher=Nature Portfolio | volume=22 | issue=2 | date=February 2021 | issn=1471-0056 | doi=10.1038/s41576-020-00288-7 | pages=89–105 | pmid=33067582 | s2cid=223559538}}

E. guineensis is almost entirely pollinated by insects and not by wind. Elaeidobius kamerunicus is the most specially adapted pollination partner in Africa.{{cite journal | last1=Rader | first1=R. | last2=Cunningham | first2=S.A. | last3=Howlett | first3=B.G. | last4=Inouye | first4=D.W. | title=Non-Bee Insects as Visitors and Pollinators of Crops: Biology, Ecology, and Management | journal=Annual Review of Entomology | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=65 | issue=1 | date=2020-01-07 | issn=0066-4170 | doi=10.1146/annurev-ento-011019-025055 | pages=391–407| pmid=31610136 | s2cid=204702146 }} It has been deliberately introduced into southeast Asia in 1981 and the results have been dramatic – Cik Mohd Rizuan et al., 2013 find good results in {{interlanguage link|Felda Sahabat|my}} in Sabah. Contrary to earlier speculation, the introduced population was not too inbred, and inbreeding depression was not the cause of some incidences of lessened fruit set in SEA. Other causes have been proposed. E. kamerunicus and the pollination it provides can be negatively affected by nematodes.p.{{spaces}}130

Worldwide the two most impactful diseases are Ganoderma orbiforme (syn. Ganoderma boninense, basal stem rot, BSR, reviewed by Chong et al., 2017{{cite book | last1=Chong | first1=Khim | first2=Jedol | last2=Dayou | first3=Arnnyitte | last3=Alexander | title=Detection and control of Ganoderma boninense in oil palm crop | publisher=Springer | publication-place=Cham, Switzerland | year=2017 | isbn=978-3-319-54969-9 | oclc=982487095 | pages=VIII+50 | series=SpringerBriefs in Agriculture | issn=2211-808X | eissn=2211-8098}} {{ISBN|978-3-319-54968-2}}) and Phytophthora palmivora (bud rot, reviewed by Torres et al. 2016{{cite journal | last1=Torres | first1=G. A. | last2=Sarria | first2=G. A. | last3=Martinez | first3=G. | last4=Varon | first4=F. | last5=Drenth | first5=A. | last6=Guest | first6=D. I. | title=Bud Rot Caused by Phytophthora palmivora: A Destructive Emerging Disease of Oil Palm | journal=Phytopathology | publisher=American Phytopathological Society | volume=106 | issue=4 | year=2016 | issn=0031-949X | doi=10.1094/phyto-09-15-0243-rvw | pages=320–329 | s2cid=1049270 | pmid=26714102| doi-access=free }} AGRIS id [http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US201600293676 US201600293676].).{{cite journal | last1=Velásquez | first1=André C. | last2=Castroverde | first2=Christian Danve M. | last3=He | first3=Sheng Yang | title=Plant–Pathogen Warfare under Changing Climate Conditions | journal=Current Biology | publisher=Cell Press | volume=28 | issue=10 | year=2018 | issn=0960-9822 | doi=10.1016/j.cub.2018.03.054 | pages=R619–R634| pmid=29787730 | pmc=5967643 }} The earliest stages of data gathering and investigation have been performed for disease resistance breeding however propagation material is not available and full breeding programs are not ongoing {{as of|2015|lc=yes}}.p.{{spaces}}425

{{anchor|Ganoderma boninense|Ganoderma orbiforme|Basal Stem Rot|Basal stem rot|BSR}}

Basal stem rot{{cite journal |author1=Mercière, Maxime |author2=Laybats, Anthony |author3=Carasco-Lacombe, Catherine

|author4=Tan, Joon Sheong |author5=Klopp, Christophe |author6=Durand-Gasselin, Tristan |author7=Alwee, Sharifah Shahrul Rabiah Syed |author8=Camus-Kulandaivelu, Létizia |author9=Breton, Fréderic |year=2015 |title=Identification and development of new polymorphic microsatellite markers using genome assembly for Ganoderma boninense, causal agent of oil palm basal stem rot disease |journal=Mycological Progress|volume=14 |issue=11 |page=103 |doi=10.1007/s11557-015-1123-2|doi-access=free |bibcode=2015MycPr..14..103M }} {{open access}} is the most serious disease of oil palm in Malaysia and Indonesia. Previously, research on basal stem rot was hampered by the failure to artificially infect oil palms with the fungus. Although Ganoderma had been associated with BSR, proof of its pathogenicity to satisfy Koch's postulate was only achieved in the early 1990s by inoculating oil palm seedling roots or by using rubber wood blocks. A reliable and quick technique was developed for testing the pathogenicity of the fungus by inoculating oil palm germinated seeds.{{cite journal |url=http://palmoilis.mpob.gov.my/publications/TOT/TT-314.pdf |title=Technique for inoculation of oil palm germinated seeds with ganoderma |last1=Idris |first1=A S |last2=Kushairi |first2=D |last3=Ariffin |first3=D |last4=Basri |first4=M W |journal=Malaysian Palm Oil Board Information Series|issue=314 |issn=1511-7871 |date=June 2006}}

This fatal disease can lead to losses as much as 80% after repeated planting cycles. Ganoderma produces enzymes that degrade the infected xylem, thus causing serious problems to the distribution of water and other nutrients to the top of the palm.{{cite journal |first1=AS |last1=Idris |first2=D |last2=Ariffin |first3=TR |last3=Swinburne |first4=TA |last4=Watt |title=The identity of ganoderma species responsible for basal stem rot disease of oil palm in Malaysia-pathogenicity test |journal=Malaysian Palm Oil Board Information Series|issue=77b |date=August 2000 |url=http://www.mpob.gov.my/tot/tt77b.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127130429/http://mpob.gov.my/tot/tt77b.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 27, 2010}} Ganoderma infection is well defined by its lesion in the stem. The cross-section of infected palm stem shows that the lesion appears as a light brown area of rotting tissue with a distinctive, irregularly shaped, darker band at the borders of this area.Turner PD. Palm oil Diseases and Disorders. Oxford University Press, 1981.{{page needed|date=October 2013}} The infected tissue become as an ashen-grey powdery and if the palm remains standing, the infected trunk rapidly becomes hollow.{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/158056a0 |title=A Wilt Disease of the Oil Palm |year=1946 |last1=Wardlaw |first1=C. W. |journal=Nature |volume=158 |issue=4002 |pages=56|bibcode=1946Natur.158...56W |s2cid=4093433 |doi-access=free }}

In a 2007 study in Portugal, scientists suggested control of the fungus on oil palms would benefit from further consideration of the process as one of white rot. Ganoderma is an extraordinary organism capable exclusively of degrading lignin to carbon dioxide and water; celluloses are then available as nutrients for the fungus. It is necessary to consider this mode of attack as a white rot involving lignin biodegradation, for integrated control. The existing literature does not report this area and appears to be concerned particularly with the mode of spread and molecular biology of Ganoderma. The white rot perception opens up new fields in breeding/selecting for resistant cultivars of oil palms with high lignin content, ensuring the conditions for lignin decomposition are reduced, and simply sealing damaged oil palms to stop decay. The spread likely is by spores rather than roots. The knowledge gained can be employed in the rapid degradation of oil palm waste on the plantation floor by inoculating suitable fungi, and/or treating the waste more appropriately (e.g. chipping and spreading over the floor rather than windrowing).{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.cropro.2006.11.009 |title=Ganoderma disease of oil palm—A white rot perspective necessary for integrated control |year=2007 |last1=Paterson |first1=R.R.M. |journal=Crop Protection|volume=26 |issue=9 |pages=1369–1376|bibcode=2007CrPro..26.1369P |hdl=1822/7349 |s2cid=55770275 |hdl-access=free }}

Markom et al., 2009 developed and successfully used an electronic nose system for detection.{{cite journal | last1=Jansen | first1=R.M.C. | last2=Wildt | first2=J. | last3=Kappers | first3=I.F. | last4=Bouwmeester | first4=H.J. | last5=Hofstee | first5=J.W. | last6=van Henten | first6=E.J. | title=Detection of Diseased Plants by Analysis of Volatile Organic Compound Emission | journal=Annual Review of Phytopathology | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=49 | issue=1 | date=2011-09-08 | issn=0066-4286 | doi=10.1146/annurev-phyto-072910-095227 | pages=157–174| pmid=21663436 | url=http://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/16186/files/FZJ-16186.pdf }}

Phytophthora palmivora has caused a loss of {{convert|5000|ha|acre|0}} of E. guineensis near San Lorenzo in Ecuador. The protozoa cause bud rot ({{Langx|es|pudrición del cogollo|links=no}}). In reaction, growers there replanted using a hybrid of E. guineensis and E. oleifera, the South American oil palm.{{cite book|last1=Potter |first1=Lesley M. |chapter=Alternative pathways for smallholder oil palm in Indonesia|title=The Oil Palm Complex: Smallholders, Agribusiness and the State in Indonesia and Malaysia| page=173/155–188/xvi+472 |jstor=j.ctv1xz0km | editor-last=Cramb | editor-first=Rob | editor-last2=McCarthy | editor-first2=John F. | publisher=NUS Press Pte Ltd| date=2018-06-04 | isbn=978-981-325-042-0 | doi=10.2307/j.ctv1xz0km|s2cid=114953270 }}

Endophytic bacteria are organisms inhabiting plant organs that at some time in their life cycles can colonize the internal plant tissues without causing apparent harm to the host.{{cite journal |last1=Azevedo |first1=João Lúcio |last2=Maccheroni |first2=Walter |last3=Pereira |first3=José Odair |last4=De Araújo |first4=Welington Luiz |year=2000 |title=Endophytic microorganisms: a review on insect control and recent advances on tropical plants |journal=Electronic Journal of Biotechnology|volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=15–6 |doi=10.2225/vol3-issue1-fulltext-4|doi-access=free |hdl=1807/1114 |hdl-access=free }} Introducing endophytic bacteria to the roots to control plant disease is to manipulate the indigenous bacterial communities of the roots in a manner, which leads to enhanced suppression of soil-borne pathogens. The use of endophytic bacteria should thus be preferred to other biological control agents, as they are internal colonizers, with better ability to compete within the vascular systems, limiting Ganoderma for both nutrients and space during its proliferation. Two bacterial isolates, Burkholderia cepacia (B3) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P3) were selected for evaluation in the glasshouse for their efficacy in enhancing growth and subsequent suppression of the spread of BSR in oil palm seedlings.{{cite journal |last1=Sapak |first1=Zaiton |last2=Meon |first2=Sariah |last3=Mior |first3=Ahmad |last4=Zainal |first4=Abidin |year=2008 |title=Effect of Endophytic bacteria on growth and suppression of ganoderma infection in oil palm |journal=International Journal of Agriculture & Biology |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=127–32 |url=http://psasir.upm.edu.my/17696/}}

Little leaf syndrome has not been fully explained, but has often been confused with boron deficiency. The growing point is damaged, sometimes by Oryctes beetles. Small, distorted leaves resembling those due to a boron deficiency emerge. This is often followed by secondary pathogenic infections in the spear that can lead to spear rot and palm death.{{cite journal |title=Some Nutritional Disorders in Oil Palms |first1=H.R. |last1=von Uexküll |first2=T.H. |last2=Fairhurst |journal=Better Crops International |volume=13 |issue=1 |date=May 1999}}

Cadang-cadang disease is a viral disease that also infects coconuts.{{cite web | title=coconut cadang-cadang viroid (CCCVd) (Cocadviroid CCCVd ) | website=Invasive.Org | date=2008-12-10 | url=http://www.invasive.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=0656010 | access-date=2020-11-23}}

{{anchor|Bursaphelenchus cocophilus|Red Ring Disease|Red ring disease|RRD}}

Red ring disease is caused by Bursaphelenchus cocophilus,{{cite journal | last1=Quist | first1=Casper W. | last2=Smant | first2=Geert | last3=Helder | first3=Johannes | title=Evolution of Plant Parasitism in the Phylum Nematoda | journal=Annual Review of Phytopathology | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=53 | issue=1 | date=2015-08-04 | issn=0066-4286 | doi=10.1146/annurev-phyto-080614-120057 | pages=289–310| pmid=26047569 | doi-access=free }} see §Nematode pests below.

{{expand section|date=November 2020}}

Besides direct damage to plant material, insects are also vectors of oil palm diseases.{{cite book| doi=10.1002/9781118953297.ch14 | page=458 | chapter=14.10 Insect Vectors of Diseases | title=The Oil Palm | year=2015 | isbn=9781118953297 | quote=As well as causing direct damage, some insects play an important role as vectors of disease (Gitau et al., 2009).}}

{{expand section|date=November 2020}}

M. plana is a Lepidopteran moth and a major pest of oil palms in Malaysia.{{cite journal |first1=Hasber |last1=Salim |first2=Che Salmah |last2=Rawi |first3=Abu Hassan |last3=Ahmad |first4=Salman Abdo |last4=Al-Shami |date=2015 |title=Efficacy of Insecticide and Bioinsecticide Ground Sprays to Control Metisa plana Walker (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) in Oil Palm Plantations, Malaysia |journal=Tropical Life Sciences Research |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=73–83|pmc=4729409 |pmid=26868711 }} M. plana outbreaks in Malaysia are highly correlated with relative humidity.{{cite journal|last1=Ruslan|first1=Siti Aisyah|last2=Muharam|first2=Farrah Melissa|last3=Zulkafli|first3=Zed|last4=Omar|first4=Dzolkhifli|last5=Zambri|first5=Muhammad Pilus|title=Using satellite-measured relative humidity for prediction of Metisa plana's population in oil palm plantations: A comparative assessment of regression and artificial neural network models|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=14|issue=10|year=2019|pages=e0223968|issn=1932-6203|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0223968|pmid=31626637|pmc=6799924|publisher=PLoS|bibcode=2019PLoSO..1423968R|doi-access=free}} Relative humidity estimates based on satellite remote sensing data were fed into both regression models and neural networks. The predictions of both were found to be closely correlated with actual M. plana appearance on plantations, with the NN producing the best results.

{{As of|2012}} R. indica was invading the Yucatanp.{{spaces}}128 placing 11 states of Mexico under phytosanitary vigilance.Supplemental Table 1

R. ferrugineus has placed 13 states of Mexico under phytosanitary vigilance.

Other arthropods include: Bagworm moths (the Psychidae family), the coconut rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros),{{cite journal | last=Bedford | first=G O | title=Biology, Ecology, and Control of Palm Rhinoceros Beetles | journal=Annual Review of Entomology | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=25 | issue=1 | year=1980 | issn=0066-4170 | doi=10.1146/annurev.en.25.010180.001521 | pages=309–339 | s2cid=85977665}} Rhynchophorus palmarum (the South American palm weevil), Tirathaba mundella (the oil palm bunch moth), and Tirathaba rufivena (the coconut spike moth).

Besides direct damage to plant material, rats also predate on Elaeidobius kamerunicus, the African palm pollinating weevil.{{cite book | doi=10.1002/9781118953297.ch14 | page=458 | chapter=14.11.1 Pests attacking pollinating weevils | title=The Oil Palm | year=2015 | isbn=9781118953297 | quote=The main predators on the weevil in the Far East are undoubtedly rats. These consume large numbers of larvae, destroying the old male inflorescences in the process, and Liau (1985) showed that rats grew more rapidly on a diet supplemented with weevil larvae. Basri Wahid and Halim Hassan (1985) considered that rat populations, and the amount of damage done, had increased since the introduction of the weevil. Chiu et al. (1985) estimated that up to 80% of weevil larvae might be eaten by rats, but noted that the weevil population remained high enough to ensure good fruit set. }}

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are known to use stones to crack open the nuts of E. guineensis, a rare example of tool use by animals.{{Cite journal |last1=Hannah |first1=A. C. |last2=McGrew |first2=W. C. |date=1987 |title=Chimpanzees using stones to crack open oil palm nuts in Liberia |journal=Primates |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=31–46 |doi=10.1007/BF02382181 |s2cid=24738945 |issn=1610-7365}}

Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) are known to prefer oil palm fruit in the wild.{{Cite web

| url = https://www.britannica.com/animal/African-gray-parrot

| title = African gray parrot {{!}} bird

| website = Encyclopædia Britannica

| access-date = 2 March 2016

}} One of their chief predators, the palm-nut vulture (Gypohierax angolensis),{{Cite web

| url = http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Psittacus_erithacus/#f24bd35f16068305e983d5a67b1bc755

| title = Psittacus erithacus (grey parrot)

| website = Animal Diversity Web

| access-date = 2 March 2016

}} also heavily depends on oil palm fruit for its diet, making up over 60% of the adult bird's diet and over 90% of the juvenile bird's diet (along with Raffia palm).{{Cite journal|last=van Zyl|first=Anthony|date=November 2006|title=Raptors of the world: a field guide by James Ferguson-Lees and David Christie|journal=Ostrich|volume=77|issue=3–4|pages=235–236|doi=10.2989/00306520609485540|bibcode=2006Ostri..77..235V |s2cid=220343722 |issn=0030-6525}}

{{expand section|date=November 2020}}

Bursaphelenchus cocophilus is a nematode pest which is better known for infecting coconut palms.{{cite web | title=Bursaphelenchus cocophilus Cobb | website=University of Florida Entomology Department | date=2002-01-02 | url=http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/nematode/red_ring_nematode.htm | access-date=2020-11-23}} (It also afflicts a few other of the Arecaceae.) It causes "red ring disease", so named because it produces a red colored layer within the trunk of the tree, which looks like a red ring in a cross section cut. B. cocophilus is obligately transmitted as the third juvenile stage by vectors, specifically several species of weevil. Unlike congener B. xylophilus there are not thought to be any non plant hosts to serve as reservoir hosts for infection of E. guineensis. Besides direct infestation of the palm, other nematodes infest the pollinating weevil Elaeidobius kamerunicus, reducing pollination and yield.

Because each tree is relatively big and has an individual value, information about its pest and disease status is valuable. Although visual inspection is the oldest method, others are under development or occasional use.

Volatiles and microfocus X-ray fluorescence are two methods can be used to non-invasively detect pre-emergence Ganoderma orbiforme disease as a lab test. Sonic tomography is already in use with good results, at 96% accuracy. On the other hand satellite imagery and computer vision has low classification accuracy as to severity.{{cite journal | last=Oerke | first=Erich-Christian | title=Remote Sensing of Diseases | journal=Annual Review of Phytopathology | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=58 | issue=1 | date=2020-08-25 | issn=0066-4286 | doi=10.1146/annurev-phyto-010820-012832 | pages=225–252| pmid=32853102 | s2cid=221358684 | doi-access=free }}

Oil palms were introduced to Java by the Dutch in 1848,{{Cite book |first1=Wilhelm |last1=Lötschert |first2=Gerhard |last2=Beese |year=1983 |title=Collins Guide to Tropical Plants |publisher=Collins |location=London |isbn=978-0-00-219112-8 |oclc=11153110 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/collinsguidetotr0000lots }}{{Page needed|date=September 2010}} and to Malaysia (then the British colony of Malaya) in 1910 by Scotsman William Sime and English banker Henry Darby. The species of palm tree Elaeis guineensis was taken to Malaysia from Eastern Nigeria in 1961. As noted it originally grew in West Africa. The southern coast of Nigeria was originally called the Palm oil coast by the first Europeans who arrived there and traded in the commodity. This area was later renamed the Bight of Biafra.

In traditional African medicine different parts of the plant are used as laxative and diuretic, as a poison antidote, as a cure for gonorrhea, menorrhagia, and bronchitis, to treat headaches and rheumatism, to promote healing of fresh wounds and treat skin infections.{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=L |last2=Waltenberger |first2=B |last3=Pferschy-Wenzig |first3=EM |last4=Blunder |first4=M |last5=Liu |first5=X |title=Natural product agonists of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ): a review |journal=Biochem Pharmacol |date= July 2014 |doi=10.1016/j.bcp.2014.07.018 |pmid=25083916 |volume=92 |issue=1 |pmc=4212005 |pages=73–89}}

In Yoruba religion, it is associated with its creation myth as the first tree that Ọbatala finds descending to earth; it is also believed as Ọrunmila's axis mundi connecting heaven and earth. Thus, oil palm fronds often mark areas of sacred religious important or incorporated in traditional orisha garment; its kernels are also prepared to use as a tool of receiving Ọrunmila's words to the babalawo.{{cite journal |journal=Africana Studies Review |publisher=Southern University at New Orleans |volume=6 |issue=1 |date=Spring 2019 |title=The Tree That Centres The World: The Palm Tree As Yoruba Axis Mundi |first=Ayodeji |last=Ogunnaike |pages=43–58}}

In Cambodia, this palm was introduced as a decorative plant in public gardens, its Khmer name is dôô:ng préing (doong=palm, preing=oil).{{cite book |author=Pauline Dy Phon |author-link=Pauline Dy Phon |title=Plants Utilised In Cambodia/Plants utilisées au Cambodge |date=2000 |publisher=Imprimerie Olympic |location=Phnom Penh |page=268|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=InD2RAAACAAJ}}

In Malaysia, the first plantations were mostly established and operated by British plantation owners, such as Sime Darby and Boustead, and remained listed in London until the Malaysian government engineered their "Malaysianisation" throughout the 1960s and 1970s.{{Cite news|first=Tom |last=Stevenson |date=22 December 2006 |title=Malaysia targets alternative fuels market |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2952784/Malaysia-targets-alternative-fuels-market.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=22 September 2009 | location=London}}

Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) is the world's biggest oil palm planter, with planted area close to 900,000 hectares in Malaysia and Indonesia. Felda was formed on July 1, 1956, when the Land Development Act came into force with the main aim of eradicating poverty. Settlers were each allocated 10 acres of land (about 4 hectares) planted either with oil palm or rubber, and given 20 years to pay off the debt for the land.{{Cite web |url=http://www.felda.net.my/info/peranan.htm |title=Penubuhan Felda |access-date=2012-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060129005546/http://www.felda.net.my/INFO/peranan.htm |archive-date=2006-01-29 |url-status=dead }}

After Malaysia achieved independence in 1957, the government focused on value-added of rubber planting, boosting exports, and alleviating poverty through land schemes. In the 1960s and 1970s, the government encouraged planting of other crops, to cushion the economy when world prices of tin and rubber plunged. Rubber estates gave way to oil palm plantations. In 1961, Felda's first oil palm settlement opened, with 3.75 km² of land. As of 2000, 6855.2 km² (approximately 76%) of the land under Felda's programmes were devoted to oil palms.Simeh, Arif & Tengku Ahmad, Tengku Mohd. Ariff (2001). [http://r0.unctad.org/infocomm/Diversification/bangkok/palmoil.pdf "The Case Study on the Malaysian Palm Oil"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051218061309/http://r0.unctad.org/infocomm/Diversification/bangkok/palmoil.pdf |date=2005-12-18 }} By 2008, Felda's resettlement broadened to 112,635 families, who work on 8533.13 km² of agriculture land throughout Malaysia. Oil palm planting took up 84% of Felda's plantation landbank.{{cite journal |title=Oil palm - the backbone of economic growth |journal=Global Oils and Fats |volume=6 |issue=2 |date=April–June 2009 |pages=6}}

Felda's success led to the establishment of other development schemes to support the establishment of small-farmer oil palm cultivation. The Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (FELCRA) was established in 1966{{cite book |title=The Natural Rubber Market: Review, Analysis, Policies and Outlook |last1=Burger |first1=Kees |last2=Smit |first2=Hidde P. |year=1997 |publisher=Woodhead Publishing |isbn=978-1855733213 |pages=244–245 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5nJ4TzFiE_MC&q=FELCRA&pg=PA245 |access-date=30 August 2012}} and the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (SALCRA) was formed in 1976.{{cite book |title=The Report: Malaysia 2011 |year=2011 |publisher=Oxford Business Group |isbn= 978-1907065460|page=295 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ClCfNOWRjwC&q=SALCRA&pg=PA295 |access-date=30 August 2012}} The primary objective of these organizations is to assist in the development of rural communities and reduce poverty through the cultivation of high yielding crops such as palm oil.

{{As of|2011|11}}, SALCRA had developed 18 estates totalling approximately 51,000 hectares. That year the organization shared dividends with 16,374 landowners participating in the program.{{cite web|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/11/5/sarawak/9842451&sec=sarawak |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221043224/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/11/5/sarawak/9842451&sec=sarawak |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 February 2013 |title=Salcra: Windfall of RM100.9mil will be shared by more than 16,000 landowners |last1=Wong |first1=Jack |date=5 November 2011 |website=thestar.com.my |publisher=The Star Online |access-date=6 September 2012 }}

File:Fruit oil palm.JPG

File:Production Of Oil Palm Fruit (2021).svg

Oil is extracted from both the pulp of the fruit (palm oil, an edible oil) and the kernel (palm kernel oil, used in foods and for soap manufacture). For every 100 kg of fruit bunches, typically 22 kg of palm oil and 1.6 kg of palm kernel oil can be extracted.

The high oil yield of oil palms (as high as 7,250 liters per hectare per year) has made it a common cooking ingredient in Southeast Asia and the tropical belt of Africa. Its increasing use in the commercial food industry in other parts of the world is buoyed by its cheaper pricing,{{cite press release |title=Palm Oil Continues to Dominate Global Consumption in 2006/07 |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |date=June 2006 |url=http://www.fas.usda.gov/oilseeds/circular/2006/06-06/Junecov.pdf |access-date=22 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426031438/http://www.fas.usda.gov/oilseeds/circular/2006/06-06/Junecov.pdf |archive-date=26 April 2009 }} the high oxidative stability of the refined product,{{Cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1745-4522.1999.tb00142.x |year=1999 |last1=Che Man |first1=YB |last2=Liu |last3=Jamilah |title=Quality changes of RBD palm olein, soybean oil and their blends during deep-fat frying |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=181–193 |journal=Journal of Food Lipids |first2=J.L. |first3=B. |last4=Rahman |first4=R. Abdul}}{{Cite journal|doi=10.1002/ejlt.200600294 |title=Use of palm oil for frying in comparison with other high-stability oils |year=2007 |last1=Matthäus |first1=Bertrand |journal=European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology |volume=109|issue=4 |pages=400–409}} and high levels of natural antioxidants.{{Cite journal |pmid=14506001 |url=http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/APJCN/volume12/vol12.3/fullArticles/Sundram.pdf |year=2003 |last1=Sundram |first1=K |last2=Sambanthamurthi |last3=Tan |title=Palm fruit chemistry and nutrition |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=355–62 |journal=Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition |first2=R |first3=YA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322063653/http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/APJCN/volume12/vol12.3/fullArticles/Sundram.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-22 }}

The oil palm originated in West Africa, but has since been planted successfully in tropical regions within 20 degrees of the equator. In the Republic of the Congo, or Congo Brazzaville, precisely in the Northern part, not far from Ouesso, local people produce this oil by hand. They harvest the fruit, boil it to let the water evaporate, then press what is left to collect the reddish-orange-colored oil.

In 1995, Malaysia was the world's largest producer, with a 51% of world share, but since 2007, Indonesia has been the world's largest producer, supplying approximately 50% of world palm oil volume.

Worldwide palm oil production for season 2011/2012 was {{convert|50.3|e6MT|e6ST|abbr=off}}, increasing to {{convert|52.3|e6MT|e6ST|abbr=off}} for 2012/13.{{cite web |url=http://www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdreport.aspx?hidReportRetrievalName=BVS&hidReportRetrievalID=710&hidReportRetrievalTemplateID=8 |title=Table 11: Palm Oil: World Supply and Distribution |date=August 10, 2012 |website=fas.usda.gov |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |access-date=30 August 2012 |archive-date=27 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130227150534/http://www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdreport.aspx?hidReportRetrievalName=BVS&hidReportRetrievalID=710&hidReportRetrievalTemplateID=8 |url-status=dead }}

In 2010/2011, total production of palm kernels was {{convert|12.6|e6MT|e6ST|abbr=off}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/est/COMM_MARKETS_MONITORING/Oilcrops/Documents/Food_outlook_oilseeds/Food_Outlook_May_12.pdf |title=Food Outlook |date=May 2012 |website=fao.org |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |access-date=30 August 2012}}

In 2019 total production was {{convert|75.7|e6MT|e6ST|abbr=off}} {{Cite web | url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/613471/palm-oil-production-volume-worldwide/ |title = Global production volume palm oil, 2012-2020}} E. guineensis is among the few tropical tree crops (along with bananas and citrus) with high productivity in actual growing conditions, i.e. outside of test plots.

The Urhobo people of Nigeria use the extract to make amiedi soup.

{{See also|Social and environmental impact of palm oil}}

The social and environmental impact of oil palm cultivation is a highly controversial topic.{{Cite web | url = http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/biodiversity/case_studies/palm_oil/ | title = Palm oil - rainforest in your shopping | publisher = Friends of the Earth | access-date = 2007-11-29 | archive-date = 2007-10-16 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071016204407/http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/biodiversity/case_studies/palm_oil/ | url-status = dead }}{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012 |pmid=18775582 |title=How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity? |year=2008 |last1=Fitzherbert |first1=E |last2=Struebig |first2=M |last3=Morel |first3=A |last4=Danielsen |first4=F |last5=Bruhl |first5=C |last6=Donald |first6=P |last7=Phalan |first7=B |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |volume=23 |issue=10 |pages=538–545}} Oil palm is a valuable economic crop and provides a major source of employment. It allows many small landholders to participate in the cash economy and often results in the upgrade of the infrastructure (schools, roads, telecommunications) within that area.{{Citation needed|date=November 2007}} According to the IBGE oil palm is a common crop in agroforestry practices in the Amazon.{{cite web | title=Culturas temporárias e permanentes | website=IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) | url=http://www.ibge.gov.br/estatisticas/economicas/agricultura-e-pecuaria/9117-producao-agricola-municipal-culturas-temporarias-e-permanentes.html?=&t=o-que-e | language=pt | access-date=2022-03-15 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303054822/http://www.ibge.gov.br/estatisticas/economicas/agricultura-e-pecuaria/9117-producao-agricola-municipal-culturas-temporarias-e-permanentes.html?=&t=o-que-e | url-status=live | archive-date=2022-03-03}}{{cite journal | last1=Garrett | first1=Rachael D. |author-link1= Rachael Garrett| last2=Cammelli | first2=Federico | last3=Ferreira | first3=Joice | last4=Levy | first4=Samuel A. | last5=Valentim | first5=Judson | last6=Vieira | first6=Ima | title=Forests and Sustainable Development in the Brazilian Amazon: History, Trends, and Future Prospects | journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=46 | issue=1 | date=2021-10-18 | issn=1543-5938 | doi=10.1146/annurev-environ-012220-010228 | pages=625–652| s2cid=235550587 | hdl=20.500.11850/524261 | hdl-access=free }} However, there are cases where native customary lands have been appropriated by oil palm plantations without any form of consultation or compensation,{{Cite web |url=http://archive.forestpeoples.org/documents/sust_livehds/png_landowners_decl_mar04_eng.shtml |title=Oro Landowners' Declaration on Large-Scale Commercial Extraction of Natural Resources and the Expansion of Oil Palm Nucleus Estates |publisher=Forest Peoples Programme |access-date=2007-11-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202074832/http://archive.forestpeoples.org/documents/sust_livehds/png_landowners_decl_mar04_eng.shtml |archive-date=2011-02-02 }} leading to social conflict between the plantations and local residents.{{Cite web | url = http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004BE3B1/(httpInfoFiles)/B3EE02C81FE75923C125738A003536C9/$file/Colombia_press_release_nov07.pdf | title = Palm oil cultivation for biofuel blocks return of displaced people in Colombia | publisher = iDMC | access-date = 2007-11-29 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071127055013/http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004BE3B1/(httpInfoFiles)/B3EE02C81FE75923C125738A003536C9/$file/Colombia_press_release_nov07.pdf | archive-date = 2007-11-27 | url-status = dead }} In some cases, oil palm plantations are dependent on imported labour or illegal immigrants, with some concerns about the employment conditions and social impacts of these practices.{{Cite web|url=http://www.salvaleforeste.it/View-document/416-Ghosts-on-our-Own-Land.html?format=raw&tmpl=component |title=Ghosts on our Own Land: Indonesian Oil Palm Smallholders and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm |publisher=Forest Peoples Programme |access-date=2009-03-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722051806/http://www.salvaleforeste.it/View-document/416-Ghosts-on-our-Own-Land.html?format=raw&tmpl=component |archive-date=2011-07-22 }}

Biodiversity loss (including the potential extinction of charismatic species) is one of the most serious negative effects of oil palm cultivation. On the other hand, it also helps to push invasive species further, e.g. Anoplolepis gracilipes in southeast Asia.{{cite journal | last1=Malhi | first1=Yadvinder | last2=Gardner | first2=Toby A. | last3=Goldsmith | first3=Gregory R. | last4=Silman | first4=Miles R. | last5=Zelazowski | first5=Przemyslaw | title=Tropical Forests in the Anthropocene | journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=39 | issue=1 | date=2014-10-17 | issn=1543-5938 | doi=10.1146/annurev-environ-030713-155141 | pages=125–159| doi-access=free }} Large areas of already threatened tropical rainforest are often cleared to make way for palm oil plantations, especially in Southeast Asia, where enforcement of forest protection laws is lacking. In some states where oil palm is established, lax enforcement of environmental legislation leads to encroachment of plantations into protected areas,{{Cite web|url=http://www.unep-wcmc.org/resources/publications/LastStand.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610181020/http://www.unep-wcmc.org/resources/publications/LastStand.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-06-10 |title=The Last Stand of the Orangutan |publisher=UNEP |access-date=2007-12-01 }} encroachment into riparian strips,{{Cite web| url = http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1001069/cut_down_oil_palm_on_river_banks_plantations_warned/index.html | title = Cut Down Oil Palm on River Banks, Plantations Warned | publisher = New Straits Times | access-date= 2007-12-01| date = 2007-07-16 }} open burning of plantation wastes,{{Citation needed|date=November 2007}} and release of palm mill pollutants such as palm oil mill effluent (POME) in the environment. Some of these states have recognised the need for increased environmental protection, resulting in more environment-friendly practices.{{Cite web | url = http://www.sabah.gov.my/jpas/programs/ecd-cab/technical/OP211100.pdf | title = Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Guidelines for Oil Palm Plantation Development | access-date = 2007-11-29 | archive-date = 2008-02-27 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080227150606/http://www.sabah.gov.my/jpas/programs/ecd-cab/technical/OP211100.pdf | url-status = dead }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.rspo.org/default.aspx |title=Promoting the Growth and Use of Sustainable Palm Oil |publisher=RSPO |access-date=2007-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070706035506/http://www.rspo.org/default.aspx |archive-date=2007-07-06 |url-status=dead }} Among those approaches is anaerobic treatment of POME, which can be a good source for biogas (methane) production and electricity generation. Anaerobic treatment of POME has been practiced in Malaysia and Indonesia. Like most wastewater sludge, anaerobic treatment of POME results in dominance of Methanosaeta concilii. It plays an important role in methane production from acetate, and the optimum condition for its growth should be considered to harvest biogas as renewable fuel.{{cite journal |doi=10.2225/vol12-issue3-fulltext-1 |title=Establishment of an efficient callus induction and plant regeneration system in Pakistani wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars |year=2009 |last1=Ali |first1=Ghulam Muhammad |last2=Rashid |first2=Umer |last3=Ali |first3=Shaukat |last4=Ayub |first4=Najma |last5=Masood |first5=M. Shahid |journal=Electronic Journal of Biotechnology |volume=12 |issue=3|doi-broken-date=2024-11-13 |url=http://www.bioline.org.br/abstract?id=ej09024 |hdl=1807/49015 |hdl-access=free }}

Demand for palm oil has increased in recent years due to its use as a biofuel,{{Cite web |url=http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/1/1/lifefocus/19561783&sec=lifefocus |title=Eco-conscious palm oil |publisher=The Star Malaysia |access-date=2008-01-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517103036/http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F1%2F1%2Flifefocus%2F19561783&sec=lifefocus |archive-date=2008-05-17 }} but recognition that this increases the environmental impact of cultivation, as well as causing a food vs fuel issue, has forced some developed nations to reconsider their policies on biofuel to improve standards and ensure sustainability.{{Cite news| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7186380.stm | title = EU rethinks biofuels guidelines | work = BBC | access-date= 2008-01-14 | date=2008-01-14}} However, critics point out that even companies signed up to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil continue to engage in environmentally damaging practices{{Cite web|url=http://www.elti.org/storage/Maitar1.pdf |title=Biofuels and palm oil - why palm oil cannot fuel the biofuels industry }}{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and that using palm oil as biofuel is perverse because it encourages the conversion of natural habitats such as forests and peatlands, releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases.{{Cite journal| url = http://www.globalbioenergy.org/uploads/media/0811_Danielsen_et_al_-_Biofuel_plantations_on_forested_lands.pdf | title = Biofuel Plantations on Forested Lands: Double Jeopardy for Biodiversity and Climate| journal = IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science| volume = 6| issue = 24| pages = 348–58| bibcode = 2009E&ES....6x2014D| last1 = Danielsen| first1 = Finn| last2 = Beukema| first2 = H| last3 = Burgess| first3 = N| last4 = Parish| first4 = F| last5 = Brühl| first5 = C| last6 = Donald| first6 = P| last7 = Murdiyarso| first7 = D| last8 = Phalan| first8 = B| last9 = Reijnders| first9 = L| last10 = Struebig| first10 = M| last11 = Fitzherbert| first11 = E| year = 2009| doi = 10.1088/1755-1307/6/24/242014| pmid = 19040648| s2cid = 250672378}}

Oil palm production has been documented as a cause of substantial and often irreversible damage to the natural environment.{{Cite book|year=2004 |last1=Clay |first1=Jason |title=World Agriculture and the Environment |pages=219 }} Its impacts include deforestation, habitat loss of critically endangered species,{{Cite web|date=May 2005

| url=http://www.cspinet.org/palm/PalmOilReport.pdf

| publisher = Center for Science in the Public Interest

| title=Palm oil threatening endangered species

}}[http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/palm-oil_cooking-the-climate Cooking the Climate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410195818/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/palm-oil_cooking-the-climate |date=2010-04-10 }} Greenpeace UK Report, November 15, 2007[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/business/worldbusiness/31biofuel.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=e653a375e67e8e49&ex=1327899600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Once a Dream, Palm Oil May Be an Eco-Nightmare] The New York Times, January 31, 2007 and a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions.[http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter7.pdf Fourth Assessment Report, Working Group I "The Physical Science Basis" ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110315005004/http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter7.pdf |date=2011-03-15 }}, Section 7.3.3.1.5 (p. 527), IPCC, Retrieved 4 May 2008

The pollution is exacerbated because many rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia lie atop peat bogs that store great quantities of carbon, which are released when the forests are cut down and the bogs are drained to make way for the plantations.

Environmental groups, such as Greenpeace, claim the deforestation caused by making way for oil palm plantations is far more damaging for the climate than the benefits gained by switching to biofuel.{{cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.1152747 |title=Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt |year=2008 |last1=Fargione |first1=J. |last2=Hill |first2=J. |last3=Tilman |first3=D. |last4=Polasky |first4=S. |last5=Hawthorne |first5=P. |journal=Science |volume=319 |issue=5867 |pages=1235–8 |pmid=18258862|bibcode=2008Sci...319.1235F |s2cid=206510225 }} Fresh land clearances, especially in Borneo, are contentious for their environmental impact.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7084306.stm Palm oil warning for Indonesia] BBC 8 November 2007[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6927890.stm BBC Losing land to palm oil in Kalimantan] BBC News, 3 August 2007

Despite thousands of square kilometres of land standing unplanted in Indonesia, tropical hardwood forests are being cleared for palm oil plantations. Furthermore, as the remaining unprotected lowland forest dwindles, developers are looking to plant peat swamp land, using drainage that begins an oxidation process of the peat which can release 5,000 to 10,000 years worth of stored carbon. Drained peat is also at very high risk of forest fire. There is a clear record of fire being used to clear vegetation for oil palm development in Indonesia, where in recent years drought and man-made clearances have led to massive uncontrolled forest fires, covering parts of Southeast Asia in haze and leading to an international crisis with Malaysia. These fires have been blamed on a government with little ability to enforce its own laws, while impoverished small farmers and large plantation owners illegally burn and clear forests and peat lands to develop the land rather than reap the environmental benefits it could offer.[http://www.terradaily.com/reports/No_Easy_Solution_To_Indonesian_Haze_Problem_999.html No Easy Solution To Indonesian Haze Problem] AFP 20 April 2007[http://voanews.com/english/archive/2006-09/2006-09-11-voa15.cfm?CFID=228535988&CFTOKEN=81987215 Forest Fires Sweep Indonesian Borneo and Sumatra]{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} VOA news

Many of the major companies in the vegetable oil economy participate in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, which is trying to address this problem. For example, in 2008, Unilever, a member of the group, committed to use only oil palm oil which is certified as sustainable, by ensuring the large companies and smallholders that supply it convert to sustainable production by 2015.[http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?n=85047-unilever-greenpeace-palm-oil-carbon-emissions-sustainable Unilever commits to sustainable palm oil] Food Navigator.com 2 May 2008

Meanwhile, much of the recent investment in new palm plantations for biofuel has been funded through carbon credit projects through the Clean Development Mechanism; however, the reputational risk associated with the unsustainable palm plantations in Indonesia has now made many funds wary of such investment.[http://www.carbon-financeonline.com/index.cfm?section=features&id=10864&action=view&return=home Carbon market takes sides in palm oil battle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218205632/http://www.carbon-financeonline.com/index.cfm?section=features&id=10864&action=view&return=home |date=2012-02-18 }} Carbon Finance, 20 November 2007

Some scientists and companies are going beyond using just the oil, and are proposing to convert fronds, empty fruit bunches and palm kernel shells harvested from oil palm plantations into renewable electricity,[http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=245335]{{Dead link|date=August 2019|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} Malaysian National News Agency, 6 February 2007 cellulosic ethanol,[http://www.budibiofuels.com/biorefinery-solutions.pdf Celluosic ethanol from processing and plantation waste] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306193805/http://www.budibiofuels.com/biorefinery-solutions.pdf |date=2012-03-06 }} Budi Oil Holdings Sdn. Bhd company promotional literature biogas,[http://cdm.unfccc.int/Projects/DB/TUEV-SUED1151931954.52 Biogas Clean Development Mechanism: recovery and electricity generation from Palm Oil Mill Effluent ponds], UNFCCC CDM register biohydrogen{{Cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.ijhydene.2005.12.002 |title=Biohydrogen generation from palm oil mill effluent using anaerobic contact filter |year=2006 |last1=Vijayaraghavan |first1=K |last2=Ahmad |journal=International Journal of Hydrogen Energy |volume=31 |issue=10 |pages=1284–1291 |first2=D |url=http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40352/1/Biohydrogen_generation_from_palm_oil_mill_effluent_using_anaerobic_contact_filter.pdf }}{{Dead link|date=June 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and bioplastic.[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20071202102047/http://www.bt.tudelft.nl/live/pagina.jsp?id=a6bc2465-2b57-49a1-bc5e-0ce52e99c6a4&lang=en&binary=/doc/EBTprFadhil.pdf Biodegradable Plastics Production from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)] Delft University of Technology Thus, by using both the biomass from the plantation as well as the processing residues from palm oil production (fibers, kernel shells, palm oil mill effluent), bioenergy from palm plantations can have an effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Examples of these production techniques have been registered as projects under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism.

By using palm biomass to generate renewable energy, fuels and biodegradable products, both the energy balance and the greenhouse gas emissions balance for palm biodiesel is improved. For every tonne of palm oil produced from fresh fruit bunches, a farmer harvests around 6 tonnes of waste palm fronds, 1 tonne of palm trunks, 5 tonnes of empty fruit bunches, 1 tonne of press fiber (from the mesocarp of the fruit), half a tonne of palm kernel endocarp, 250 kg of palm kernel press cake, and 100 tonnes of palm oil mill effluent.{{citation needed|date=August 2012|reason=I found a different number here http://www.americanpalmoil.com/sustainable-pome.html}} Some oil palm plantations incinerate biomass to generate power for palm oil mills. Some other oil palm plantations yield large amount of biomass that can be recycled into medium density fibreboards and light furniture.[http://unit.aist.go.jp/internat/biomassws/01workshop/material/AliHassan.pdf Biomass Utilization in Malaysia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061203030154/http://unit.aist.go.jp/internat/biomassws/01workshop/material/AliHassan.pdf |date=2006-12-03 }} National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST, Japan) In efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, scientists treat palm oil mill effluent to extract biogas. After purification, biogas can substitute for natural gas for use at factories. Anaerobic treatment of palm oil mill effluent, practiced in Malaysia and Indonesia, results in domination of Methanosaeta concilii. It plays an important role in methane production from acetate and the optimum condition for its growth should be considered to harvest biogas as renewable fuel.

Unfortunately, the production of palm oil has detrimental effects on the environment and is not considered to be a sustainable biofuel. The deforestation occurring throughout Malaysia and Indonesia as a result of the growing demand for this plant has made scarce natural habitats for orangutans and other rainforest dwellers. More carbon is released during the life cycle of a palm oil plant to its use as a biofuel than is emitted by the same volume of fossil fuels.{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.enpol.2004.09.001 |title=Conditions for the sustainability of biomass based fuel use |year=2006 |last1=Reijnders |first1=L. |journal=Energy Policy |volume=34 |issue=7 |pages=863–876}}

• Energy and the environment
• Journal of Oil Palm Research
• Journal of Plantation Crops
• Malaysian Palm Oil Board
• Social and environmental impact of palm oil

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• {{cite book | title=The Oil Palm | publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd | location=Chichester, UK | date=2015-10-03 | isbn=978-1-118-95329-7 | last1=Corley | first1=R. H. V. | last2=Tinker | first2=P. B. | doi=10.1002/9781118953297 | s2cid=132543108}} {{S2CID|82631705}}

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• {{cite journal | last1=Williams | first1=Trevor | last2=Arredondo-Bernal | first2=Hugo C. | last3=Rodríguez-del-Bosque | first3=Luis A. | title=Biological Pest Control in Mexico | journal=Annual Review of Entomology | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=58 | issue=1 | date=2013-01-07 | issn=0066-4170 | doi=10.1146/annurev-ento-120811-153552 | pages=119–140| pmid=22974068 }}

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{{Commons category|Elaeis guineensis}}

{{WestAfricanPlants|Elaeis guineensis}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070706035506/http://www.rspo.org/default.aspx Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil]

• {{cite book | editor1-last=Lai | editor1-first=Oi-Ming | editor2-last=Tan | editor2-first=Chin-Ping | editor3-last=Akoh | editor3-first=Casimir C. | title=Palm Oil: Production, Processing, Characterization, and Uses | publisher=AOCS Press | location=Urbana, IL | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-9818936-9-3 | oclc=827944630 }}

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Category:Cocoseae

Category:Oil palm

Category:Fruits originating in Africa

Category:Flora of Africa

Category:Taxa named by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin