The oil palm, (4^th Ed.)

The oil palm is the world's most important oil crop, in terms of trade, and looks set to overtake soya bean in total production volume. Palm oil production has increased by more than 50% over the last decade, and with it an equivalent expansion in research conducted on the crop. Hence the need for a new edition of the only comprehensive text to give worldwide coverage of the oil palm. The fourth edition will be completely revised and updated to include new material in clonal propagation, breeding and molecular genetics, agronomy and crop physiology. There will be new and expanded sections on uses of oil palm products, the nutritional value of oil palm over soya bean, the economics of the oil palm industry and the environmental impact of growing oil palms.

1. The origin and development of the oil palm idustry.

1.1 Origin of the oil palm.

1.2 The oil palm in Africa.

1.3 Development of the oil palm plantation industry.

1.4 World wide development of the industry, 1950 2001.

1.5 Development methods.

1.6 Trade in and the use of oil palm products.

2. The classification and morphology of the oil palm.

2.1 Classification of oil palms.

2.2 The African oil palm.

2.3 The American palm.

2.4 The Elaeis guineensis X Elaeis oleifera hybrid.

3. The climate and soils of the oil palm growing regions.

3.1 General.

3.2 Climate.

3.3 Total climate and oil palm growth.

3.4 Soils.

3.5 Soils of the oil palm regions.

3.6 Land classification.

4. Growth, flowering and yield.

4.1 Analysis of plant growth.

4.2 Vegetative growth and partitioning of dry matter.

4.3 Environmental and management factors.

4.4 Flowering.

4.5 Yield.

5. Selection and Breeding.

5.1 History of Selection.

5.2 Techniques used in oil palm breeding and selection.

5.3 Variation and inheritance.

5.4 Methods of selection and breeding.

5.5 Selection and breeding in practice.

5.6 Oil palm improvemnet in the future.

6. Vegetative propagation and biotechnology.

6.1 History of oil palm tissue culture.

6.2 Tissue culture methods.

6.3 Abnormal flowering, bunch failure and other problems.

6.4 Clone testing.

6.5 The future for oil palm clonal propagation.

6.6 Other aspects of oil palm biotechnology.

7. Seed germination and nurseries.

7.1 Seed germination.

7.2 Nurseries.

8. Site selection and land preparation.

8.1 Choice of site for oil palm planting.

8.2 Plantation layout.

8.3 Field preparation.

8.4 Uses and covers of interrows.

9. The establishment of oil palms in the field.

9.1 Planting in the field.

9.2 Shortening the immature period.

9.3 Spacing of plants in the field.

9.4 Practical aspects of field establishment.

10. Care and maintenance of oil palms.

10.1 Care of palms and plant cover.

10.2 Field mechanisation.

10.3 Irrigation.

10.4 Fruit bunch harvesting.

10.5 The oil extraction ratio problem.

10.6 Palm age, replanting and national yield.

10.7 Site potentials in relation to plantation management.

10.8 Smallholder plantations.

11. Mineral nutrition of oil palms.

11.1 General principles of plant nutrition.

11.2 Palm uptake systems.

11.3 Nutrient deficiency and its control: field experiments.

11.4 Nutrient deficiency and its control: visual symtons and leaf analysis.

11.5 Soil composition and plant nutrition.

11.6 Practical systems for fertiliser type and rate assessment.

11.7 Recycling and losses of nutrients.

11.8 Deficiencies and toxicities in special and unusual soils.

11.9 Practical management of fertilisers.

12. Diseases and pests of the oil palm.

12.1 Diseases and disorders.

12.2 Pests.

12.3 Mammals and birds as pests.

12.4 Insect vectors of disease.

12.5 Pests of other components of the oil palm agroecosystem.

13. The products of the oil palm and their extraction.

13.1 Palm oil products and their chemical structure.

13.2 Nut composition.

13.3 Oil synthesis and breakdown in the fruit.

13.4 Extraction of palm products.

13.5 Processing of oil palm products.

13.6 Other oil palm products.

14. Marketing, economies, end use and human...