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Plant height is a key indicator of healthy growth. Given the role of soil texture in productivity, the effects of sand, silt, and clay on the height and diameter of oil palm (OP) were investigated. In the four OP plantations, measurements of total and trunk heights and trunk diameters were taken from two OP clusters: tall and short. A Pro II Laser Rangefinder (ML921) was used to measure heights. Soil samples were subjected to particle distribution analysis using the pipette method. The data were processed using RStudio software. The t-test confirmed a significant difference in the heights between the clusters in all plantations, implying the accuracy of clustering. For total height, the tall cluster was greater than the short by 24.75%, 23.89%, 27.17%, and 27.51% in OP1, OP2, OP3, and OP4, respectively. Regression analysis established that soil texture accounted for 65.3%, 46.8%, 74.4%, and 69.6% of the total OP height in the fields, respectively. Sand showed a strong to moderate positive correlation with total and trunk heights, and a moderate negative correlation with trunk diameter. The clay correlated inconsistently with trunk diameter, while silt in the 0–30 cm layer showed a strong to moderate negative correlation with height. In conclusion, soil texture profoundly influences oil palm height, with sand grains exerting the greatest positive effect. Typical clay soil should be avoided during oil palm site selection, and the fields should be well-leveled to avoid erosion, which results in continuous clay deposition on the bottom slope.

A significant wastewater source in every household is washed rice water (WRW) because it contains leached nutrients (from washing the rice prior to cooking) that could be used as fertilizer. The paper reviewed the current understanding of the potential use of WRW as a plant nutrient source. WRW was shown to increase vegetables growth, such as water spinach, pak choy, lettuce, mustard, tomato, and eggplant. Different researchers have used various amounts of WRW, and their results followed a similar trend: the higher the amount of WRW, the higher the plant growth. WRW has also been used for other purposes, such as a source of carbon for microbial growth. WRW from brown rice and white rice had nutrients ranging from 40-150, 43-16306, 51-200, 8-3574, 36-1425, 27-212, and 32-560 mg L-1 of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, and vitamin B1 (thiamine), respectively. Proper utilization of WRW could reduce chemical fertilizer use and prevent both surface and groundwater contamination and environmental pollution. However, only a few of the studies have compared the use of WRW with the use of conventional NPK fertilizer. The major drawback of WRW studies is that they lack depth and scope, such as determining the initial and (or) final soil physico-chemical properties or plant nutrient contents. Considering the rich nutrient content in WRW, it will impact plant growth and soil fertility when used as both irrigation water and plant nutrient source. Therefore, it is recommended that studies on WRW effect on soil microbial population, plant, and soil nutrient contents to be carried out to ascertain the sustainability of WRW use as a plant nutrient source.

The wastewater from washed rice water (WRW) is often recommended as a source of plant nutrients in most Asian countries, even though most current research on WRW lack scientific rigor, particularly on the effects of rice washing intensity, volumetric water-to-rice ratio (W:R), and condition of the WRW before plant application. This research was thus carried out: (1) to determine how various rice washing intensities, fermentation periods (FP), and W:R would affect the nutrient content in WRW, and (2) to isolate, identify, and characterize the bacterial community from fermented WRW. The WRW was prepared at several rice washing intensities (50, 80, and 100 rpm), FP (0, 3, 6, and 9 days), and W:R (1:1, 3:1, and 6:1). The concentrations of all elements (except P, Mg, and Zn) and available N forms increased with increasing FP and W:R. Beneficial N-fixing and P- and K-solubilizing bacteria were additionally detected in WRW, which helped to increase the concentrations of these elements. Monovalent nutrients NH+4-N, NO−3−N, and K are soluble in water. Thus, they were easily leached out of the rice grains and why their concentrations increased with W:R. The bacteria population in WRW increased until 3 days of fermentation, then declined, possibly because there was an insufficient C content in WRW to be a source of energy for bacteria to support their prolonged growth. While C levels in WRW declined over time, total N levels increased then decreased after 3 days, where the latter was most possibly due to the denitrification and ammonification process, which had led to the increase in NH+4-N and NO−3−N. The optimum FP and W:R for high nutrient concentrations and bacterial population were found to be 3 to 9 days and 3:1 to 6:1, respectively. WRW contained nutrients and beneficial bacterial species to support plant growth.

Washed rice water (WRW) is said to be a beneficial plant fertilizer because of its nutrient content. However, rigorous scientific studies to ascertain its efficiency are lacking. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of fermenting WRW on the bacterial population and identification, and to measure how fermentation affects the nutrient composition of WRW. Rice grains were washed in a volumetric water-to-rice ratio of 3:1 and at a constant speed of 80 rpm for all treatments. The treatments were WRW fermented at 0 (unfermented), 3, 6, and 9 days. Bacterial N fixation and P and K solubilization abilities in the fermented WRW were assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The isolated bacterial strains and the WRW samples were also tested for catalase and indole acetic acid (IAA) production ability. Significantly greater N fixation, P and K solubilization, and IAA production were recorded after 3 days of fermentation compared with other fermentation periods, with increases of 46.9–83.3%, 48.2–84.1%, 73.7–83.6%, and 13.3–85.5%, respectively, in addition to the highest (2.12 × 108 CFU mL−1) total bacterial population. Twelve bacteria strains were isolated from the fermented WRW, and the gene identification showed the presence of beneficial bacteria Bacillus velezensis, Enterobacter spp., Pantoea agglomerans, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia at the different fermentation periods. All the identified microbes (except Enterobacter sp. Strain WRW-7) were positive for catalase production. Similarly, all the microbes could produce IAA, with Enterobacter spp. strain WRW-10 recording the highest IAA of up to 73.7% higher than other strains. Generally, with increasing fermentation periods, the nutrients N, S, P, K, Mg, NH+4, and NO−3 increased, while pH, C, and Cu decreased. Therefore, fermentation of WRW can potentially increase plant growth and enhance soil health because of WRW’s nutrients and microbial promotional effect, particularly a

The under-utilized legume Mucuna bracteata is a potential biomass resource in Malaysia. A 24-month study was conducted under 10-year-old mature oil palm trees to determine the effects of several harvesting frequencies of M. bracteata on the legume biomass and soil properties. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design (RCBD) for the biomass and a two-factorial RCBD for the soil properties. The treatments were the harvesting frequencies, which were once every two, four, six, and twelve months. The control treatment was without harvest. There were significant effects on the legume’s cumulative biomass, standing biomass, leaf area, nutrient contents, and total nutrient harvested for N, Ca, Mg, and cellulose content. Generally, the more frequent the harvest, the more biomass was obtained, but the more legume standing biomass and leaf area were reduced. Despite the reduction in legume growth and leaf area in the field, harvesting the legume did not affect any of the soil physicochemical properties. The biomass N, Ca, and Mg contents and nutrient harvested were also affected by harvesting. This was due to the production of relatively more young shoots after harvesting, which would remove most of the aboveground plant parts. The cellulose content in the legume also increased for the same reasons. Results showed that harvesting M. bracteata once every six months was an acceptable compromise between collecting large amounts of legume biomass and having a reduced legume growth recovery and leaf area in the field, but yet not detrimentally affecting the soil properties.

Constructing a silt pit is one of the most widely adopted and effective practices used in oil palm plantations to conserve soil and water. The objective of this study was to utilize the HYDRUS-2D/3D to determine the optimal dimensions of silt pit and optimise the simulation results employing the multiple linear regression (MLR) and/or artificial neural network (ANN). Both methods were used to select the optimal size and dimensions of silt pit sizes depending on the amount of rain and soil properties. The treatments that were adopted included: 1) seven soil textures, 2) five surface slopes, and 3) three silt pits sizes. Each silt pit size comprised of three depth levels to accommodate the amount of water available in the pit. The approach first utilised the HYDRUS-2D/3D software to simulate the time-to-empty (TTE) of various silt pit sizes on different soil and slopes. Secondly, trends were then distinguished from the data, and the best fit was determined using MLR and ANN models to estimate the optimal silt pit size. The TTE was affected by the water head in the pits (H), pit width (W), the amount of water applied (Vw), and the pit volume (Vp), but was not affected by the surface slope (Slope). The findings demonstrated that the MLR models did not perform sufficiently to represent the results of TTE (R² = 0.632; MSE = 85.83) compared with the ANN models (R² = 0.977; MSE = 10.33). This was mainly due to the non-linear relations of these factors. The results demonstrated that by using the same input data, the ANN models could favourably be used for TTE predictions.

Soybean is one of the most important oilseed crops in the world. Its economic value is based on the concentration of protein and oil produced in the seeds. However, in climate change studies, a crop simulation model like AquaCrop is unable to predict the qualitative yield of crops. Therefore, this study aims to simulate qualitative soybean yield based on regression models between observed dry grain yield (Yd) from 12 treatments as independent variables with their corresponding observed values for oil and protein contents as dependent variables. The P-value (<0.05) and R2 value of the linear regression model showed that oil content was positively regressed with yield, whereas protein content was negatively regressed with yield. On the other hand, predicted values of Yd from the calibrated AquaCrop model over general circulation models based on weighted multi-model ensemble means of five emission scenarios have been used for simulation of soybean oil and protein contents in the future. The results obtained by comparing historical period (1985–2010) to the future period (2020–2039) centred on the 2030s, showed that soybean oil content increased similarly as yield increased in the future period while protein content decreased inversely with yield. Overall, statistical indicators showed that the linear regression model performed well to predict the soybean oil and protein content when AquaCrop model not able to simulate the qualitative yield.

Hourly values of air temperature, relative humidity and solar irradiance are often not available in most of the oil palm growing areas in Malaysia, thus limiting research in studying how these weather variables affect oil palm growth and yield. Therefore, a study was carried out to determine the accuracy of some selected models to estimate hourly values of these weather variables in six major oil palm growing areas in Malaysia. Using daily maximum and minimum temperatures, hourly air temperature was estimated. Together with mean hourly dew point temperature, the estimated hourly air temperature was used to simulate hourly relative humidity which was subsequently used to estimate hourly total solar irradiance. The mean absolute error, root mean square error and Willmott’s index of agreement within a 24-hr period for air temperature ranged from 0.5°C-0.7°C, 0.6°C-1.0°C and 0.81-0.84, respectively; for relative humidity ranged from 0.8%-1.5%, 1.0%-2.0% and 0.88-0.93, respectively and for total solar irradiance ranged from 83-139 W m-2, 109-178 W m-2 and 0.66-0.75, respectively. These models thus could be used to simulate hourly air temperature, relative humidity and solar irradiance in the six major oil palm growing areas in Malaysia.

Inadequate availability of nutrients and leaching losses due to water table fluctuations is a serious concern in oil palm cultivation on tropical peat land. The objectives of the study were to determine peat subsidence and leaching losses of N, P, K, Mg, Ca, Cu, and Zn from tropical peat soil under cultivation of oil palm seedlings at different water table depths. The study was conducted using cylindrical lysimeters with five water table depths namely, 25, 40, 55, 70, and 85 cm from the soil surface. The experimental layout was a Randomised Completely Block design. Leachate from each lysimeter was collected after a rainfall event to determine the leaching loss of nutrients. The highest water table depth (25 cm) from the soil surface showed the highest nutrient leaching losses, and the lowest water table depth (85 cm), showed the highest subsidence and lowest nutrients leaching losses. Plant growth was highest under the 55 cm water table depth, and the lowest under the highest and lowest water table depths of 25 and 85 cm. The 55 cm water table depth was the best for oil palm growth because the active root zone of oil palm is within the 60 cm soil depth.

The development and use of a soil water model to predict the soil water flow and content under oil palm would be useful as a tool for more effective oil palm water management. Although many soil water models exist, none of them has been specifically developed, applied, and validated for oil palm. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to develop and validate such a model. Water flow was modelled following a one-dimensional "tipping bucket" system, and the soil profile was divided into several soil layers where the soil water and hydraulic characteristics for each layer were estimated based on the soil carbon content and soil texture. Darcy's law was applied to estimate the various soil water fluxes. The soil water model included algorithms to estimate the root water uptake and water stress response by oil palm. Raw data of measured soil water content for several soil depths (up to 90 cm) from two studies (Moraidi et al., 2015; Nur Farahin, 2013) were obtained, so that the accuracy of the soil water model could be validated by comparing simulations of soil water content with measured values. The model was satisfactorily accurate, showing similar daily trend as that observed for the measured soil water content. Goodness-of-fit indexes further indicated that the model simulations showed little to no overall model bias and with an average absolute prediction error of only 10%. Future work is to increase model accuracy by estimating the daily actual evapotranspiration instead as assumed constant in this study.

Many net rainfall models have been developed, but they are often complex, data demanding and usable only for a specific vegetation type. The focus of this study was to develop and validate two simple equations (a two- and a three-coefficient equation) for nearly full canopies of oil palm, rubber and pine trees. Throughfall and stemflow data from seven past studies were used to determine the best-fit coefficients for the two equations. The three-coefficient equation was Pn = Pg x exp [- {0.3443 – (Pg / (58.9748 + Pg)} x 0.1639)] and the two-coefficient equation was Pn = 0.7724 x Pg – 0.5845 (R2 = 0.91), where Pn and Pg are the net and gross rainfall, respectively. To validate these two equations, field data collections were started. Thirteen rain gauges fit with data loggers were used for rainfall measurement. Three sampled trees were selected randomly for stemflow measurement and one rain gauge was installed at a nearby open area. Two error indices were used as a goodness-of-fit measure for equation accuracy: index of agreement and normalised mean absolute error. The results showed that the two- and three-equation equations performed nearly equally well. They predicted the net rainfall with an error of between 12 to 23% (ranked as "Fair" to "Good" in terms of overall equation accuracy) and with an index of agreement of more than 90%. The results showed that these two equations can be used fairly accurately to estimate throughfall and net rainfall, and, to a lesser degree, stemflow. Estimation errors occurred most probably because canopy and rainfall characteristics were not taken into account in the two equations.

Rubber seedlings raised in the soil-polybag system experience root coiling and restriction and the overhead sprinkler results in much water wastage. The objective of the study was to determine the influence of root trainers and three irrigation systems on rubber seedlings grown in a peat-based medium. The irrigation systems were the overhead sprinkler (SPR), drip (DRP) and capillary wick (WCK). The fourth treatment was the control (CTRL), which required growing rubber seedlings in conventional soil-polybags that were then irrigated using the wick system. The treatments were compared with one another in terms of their influence on nutrient loss, crop water productivity and water use efficiency, plant growth parameters and plant nutrient content of the rubber seedlings. A field experiment was carried out in a rain shelter for eight months, and data collection was carried out once per month. The experimental layout was the completely randomised block design. The results showed that WCK had the lowest cumulative leachate volume and the least cumulative nutrients leached. Both DRP and WCK had the highest plant growth parameters such as total fresh and dry weight, total leaf area and girth size, water productivity and leaf nutrient content. WCK was the best irrigation system together with the peat-based growing medium for raising rubber nursery seedlings.

Build a complete and working soil water model in either Python or Microsoft Excel. With this book, you will: understand how and why water flows in the soil and what factors affect its flow; how the soil water flow can be described as a set of mathematical equations; and how these equations can be implemented into a computer program in Python language and in Excel to simulate the vertical soil water flow. Fair knowledge in either Python or Excel is required to build the model (but knowledge in Visual Basic for Applications is not needed). Several scenarios are presented to describe how the model can be applied, and the simulation results for each scenario are discussed.

This study was conducted to understand the effects of fertiliser type (straights, compounds and controlled-release fertilisers) on N, P, K and Mg losses by surface runoff. The study was conducted in a mature oil palm field using three 20 m by 6 m erosion plots containing two palms per plot with the soil type being Typic Kandiudults and slopes ranging from 5.5° to 7.5°. Nutrient losses were measured in the eroded sediment and runoff water for every rainfall event over a period of 24 months. Nutrient losses were higher in the runoff water than in the eroded sediments. Broadcast application of controlled-release fertilisers and its slow dissolving nature made it prone to washing down the slope. Hence, higher nutrient losses were observed in the controlled-release fertilisers compared to other treatments. Compound fertilisers showed lower total losses for N (4.96%), K (3.95%) and Mg (0.65%) compared to straight fertilisers. Lower P losses were observed in the straights compared to the compound fertilisers due to higher percentage of soluble P in the compound fertilisers. Controlled- release fertilisers recorded high nutrient losses in the sediments caused by the washout Except for nitrogen, controlled-release fertilisers recorded higher losses for P (56.56%), K (19.83%) and Mg (10.36%) compared to straight fertilisers. Nitrogen losses were 18.15% lower in the controlled-release fertilisers compared to straights. Compound fertilisers showed lowest losses for N and K compared to straight fertilisers. Based on the data, it is postulated that compound fertilisers can lead to better nutrient uptake compared to straight fertilisers. However, this hypothesis needs to be tested through field experiments measuring nutrient uptake and its effect on oil palm productivity.

Hypothetically, leafy vegetables need water and nitrogen (N) simultaneously in their applications for good growth. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effects of four watering frequencies (watering once a day, once a week and once in every two weeks and no watering) and five levels of nitrogen (0, 34, 68, 136 and 272 kg N ha-1) on the vegetative and yield parameters of choy sum over a period of four weeks. The choy sum was grown in polyethylene bags under a rain shelter. The experimental design was a split-split plot with four replications. Plant vegetative and yield parameters measured weekly were plant height, leaf number, total leaf area, maximum root length, the various plant part weights and total tissue nitrogen. Water stress detrimentally affected choy sumfs leaf growth more than root growth and the effect of water stress was more than nitrogen stress. Higher nitrogen rates in water-stressed condition increasingly reduced the number of leaves and height of the choy sum. Choy sum grown under once-a-day watering and once-a-week treatments did not experience water stress. The optimal soil water content and nitrogen application rate were 0.4 m3 m-3 and 30 to 40 kg N ha-1, respectively. The rate of 34 kg N ha-1 and once-a-week watering treatment generally gave the highest values for all the measured vegetative and yield parameters. Under lower and point of sufficient nitrogen rates, nitrogen was used for leaf thickness and weight rather than for intercepting light via leaf area expansion.

This book is for agriculturists, many of whom are either novices or non-computer programmers, about how they can build their mathematical models in Microsoft Excel. Of all modeling platforms, spreadsheets like Excel require the least proficiency in computer programming. This book introduces an Excel add-in called BuildIt (available for free as download) that shields users from having to use Excel’s VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) programming language and yet allows agriculturists to build simple to large complex models without having to learn complicated computer programming techniques or to use sophisticated Excel techniques. This book first discusses how BuildIt works and how it is used to build models. Examples range from the simple to progressively more complex mathematical models. Ultimately, readers are taught how to build a generic crop growth model from its five core components: meteorology, canopy photosynthesis, energy balance, soil water, and crop growth development. Ultimately, agriculturists will be able to build their own mathematical models in Excel and concentrate more on the science and mathematics of their modeling work rather than being distracted by the intricacies of computer programming.

Mulching materials from oil palm residues such as pruned palm fronds (OPF), empty fruit bunches (EFB), and Eco-mat (ECO; a compressed EFB mat) are often the recommended soil and water conservation practices (CP) for oil palm plantations on hill slopes. Another recommended CP is the construction of silt pits or trenches (SIL) across the hill slope to capture runoff and then return the water and nutrients into the surrounding soil. Although these four CP are recommended practices, their relative effects on improving soil physical properties and on increasing the soil water content have never been compared with one another. Consequently, the objective of this study was to fill in this knowledge gap. A three-year field experiment was conducted in a non-terraced oil palm plantation, and soil samples from 0 to 0.15, 0.15 to 0.30, and 0.30 to 0.45 m depths were collected every three months and analyzed for their soil physical properties. Soil water content up to 0.75 m depth was also measured daily. EFB released the highest amount of organic matter and nutrients into the soil compared to OPF, ECO, and SIL. Hence, EFB was most effective to increase soil aggregation, aggregate stability, soil water retention at field capacity, available soil water content, and the relative proportion of soil mesopores. Due to these improved soil physical properties, EFB also gave the highest soil water content. Unlike ECO that concentrated more water in the upper soil layers, EFB distributed the soil water more uniformly throughout the whole soil profile, but SIL concentrated more soil water in the lower soil layers (>0.30 m) because the water levels in the pits were often below 0.30 m from the soil surface. The large opening area of the silt pits could have also caused large evaporative water losses from the pits. EFB mulching is recommended as the best CP, particularly for oil palm plantations on hill slopes.

This study was carried out to determine changes in depths of water table in an oil palm plantation and its surrounding region. Daily water table depths and daily climatic elements were considered in this study. Eight well point locations were chosen randomly throughout the oil palm plantation. To test relationships among the different variables, correlation coefficients were statistically tested using t-test at 95 and 99% confidence levels. The results showed that fluctuation depth of the water table at the oil palm area depended on climatic elements. In general, water table depth decreases during dry season and increases during wet season. However, water table depths reduction does not happen permanently. Similarly, water table depths were not changed by oil palm plantation at the oil palm area. Strong correlations were observed between oil palm area and oil palm areas with water table at river side plain. Meanwhile, some other locations were shown to have weak correlation for water table at oil palm and those locations. At oil palm area, water table depth was found to be correlated with some water balance elements such as effective precipitation, soil surface evaporation, run-off and water infiltration rate.

Irrigation frequency is one of the most important factors in the management of water in the agriculture sector to sustain crop productivity, especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Additionally, fertilizers have to be adequately applied. An experiment was carried out under a rain shelter from July to December 2012 in Malaysia to determine the effects of irrigation frequency and fertilizer sources on the growth and yield of sweet corn planted on a limed sandy clay, Ultisol, using a drip-irrigation system. This experiment was conducted using a split-plot design with four drip-irrigation frequencies (daily, once every 2 days, once every 3 days and once every 4 days) and four sources of fertilizers (NPK, goat manure, poultry manure and control). The drip irrigation was the main plot, while fertilizers were the subplot factors. The results of the study indicated that total dry matter and yield components increased with the increase in drip-irrigation frequency with values of 44% and 32% respectively. The highest growth parameters and shoot dry weight were recorded from daily irrigation intervals with goat manure, while the highest yield components were obtained from daily irrigation frequency with NPK fertilizer and poultry manure. In the light of these results, therefore, for optimum biomass of corn, high irrigation frequency with goat and poultry manure is the most viable option while yield was greatly favoured by a high irrigation frequency with NPK.

The decomposition and nutrient release temporal patterns of three oil palm residues used as soil mulch were studied. Empty fruit bunches (EFB; 1000 kg plot−1), Eco-mat (processed EFB carpet; 30 kg plot−1), and pruned palm fronds (180 kg plot−1) were left to decompose (and sampled monthly) on the soil surface for 8 months. The frond's leaflets had the highest initial concentration for most nutrients, and the frond's rachis and Eco-mat the lowest. The order of residue quality and rate of residue mass loss were: leaflets > fronds > EFB > Eco-mat > rachis. EFB however had a higher mass loss rate than the fronds. Residue mass loss and nutrient release rates were faster at the beginning than at the end of the decomposition period. Leaflets released the highest total amount of nutrients (except for K), and rachis the lowest. The fronds released either significantly higher (for N and Ca) or not significantly different (for P and Mg) total amount of nutrients than EFB. Converting EFB into Eco-mat had resulted in nutrient losses (e.g. N, K and Mg) and a residue quality reduction in Eco-mat. This study's results would aid in better soil and oil palm fertilisation management.

The Hulu Langat basin, a strategic watershed in Malaysia, has in recent decades been exposed to extensive changes in land-use and consequently hydrological conditions. In this work, the impact of Land Use and Cover Change (LUCC) on hydrological conditions (water discharge and sediment load) of the basin were investigated using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Four land-use scenarios were defined for land-use change impact analysis, i.e. past, present (baseline), future and water conservation planning. The land-use maps, dated 1984, 1990, 1997 and 2002, were defined as the past scenarios for LUCC impact analysis. The present scenario was defined based on the 2006 land-use map. The 2020 land-use map was simulated using a cellular automata-Markov model and defined as the future scenario. Water conservation scenarios were produced based on guidelines published by Malaysia’s Department of Town and Country Planning and Department of Environment. Model calibration and uncertainty analysis was performed using the Sequential Uncertainty Fitting (SUFI-2) algorithm. The model robustness for water discharge simulation for the period 1997–2008 was good. However, due to uncertainties, mainly resulting from intense urban development in the basin, its robustness for sediment load simulation was only acceptable for the calibration period 1997–2004. The optimized model was run using different land-use maps over the periods 1997–2008 and 1997–2004 for water discharge and sediment load estimation, respectively. In comparison to the baseline scenario, SWAT simulation using the past and conservative scenarios showed significant reduction in monthly direct runoff and monthly sediment load, while SWAT simulation based on the future scenario showed significant increase in monthly direct runoff, monthly sediment load and groundwater recharge.

Silt pit is one of the recommended soil water conservation practices in oil palm plantations. It is commonly regarded that the larger and deeper the silt pit, the more effective the pit would be to conserve soil water. This hypothesis was tested in this paper, where the effectiveness of four silt pit dimensions on conserving soil water in the oil palm active rooting zone was simulated using the HYDRUS 2D model. These silt pits had different sizes and total wet wall-to-floor area ratio (W:F): H1 silt pit (1x1x1 m of width, length, and depth, respectively, and W:F ratio of 4.0), H2 (1.5x1x1 and W:F of 2.5), H3 (2x1x0.5 and W:F of 1.5) and H4 (2×1×2 and W:F of 1.5). Simulations showed that silt pits with larger W:F ratios could store water for longer periods and feed water to a farther horizontal distance within the soil compared to silt pits with smaller W:F ratios. H1 took the longest to dry out, whereby it took 14 to 19 hours longer to dry out compared to than H2, H3 and H4. H1 and H3 could feed water as far as 80 cm away from the pit more than H2 and H4 (60 and 50 cm, respectively). This is because silt pits with larger W:F ratios had larger horizontal water flow than the vertical water flow. Meanwhile, the depth of a silt pit should not be below the oil palm active rooting depth, which water would flow out of reach by the roots. This study is a preliminary work to a field experiment where simulations from this paper would be validated against measurements obtained in the field before recommending the use of silt pits and their size to be constructed in oil palm plantations.

Controlled-release fertilizers are expected to minimize nutrient loss from crop fields due to their potential to supply plant-available nutrients in synchrony with crop requirements. The evaluation of the efficiency of these fertilizers in tropical oil palm agroecological conditions is not yet fully explored. In this study, a one-year field trial was conducted to determine the impact of fertilization with water soluble conventional mixture and controlled-release fertilizers on runoff loss of nutrients from an immature oil palm field. Soil and nutrient loss were monitored for one year in 2012/2013 under erosion plots of 16 m2 on 10% slope gradient. Mean sediments concentration in runoff amounted to about 6.41 t ha−1. Conventional mixture fertilizer posed the greatest risk of nutrient loss in runoff following fertilization due to elevated nitrogen (6.97%), potassium (13.37%), and magnesium (14.76%) as percentage of applied nutrients. In contrast, this risk decreased with the application of controlled-release fertilizers, representing 0.75–2.44% N, 3.55–5.09% K, and 4.35–5.43% Mg loss. Meanwhile, nutrient loss via eroded sediments was minimal compared with loss through runoff. This research demonstrates that the addition of controlled-release fertilizers reduced the runoff risks of nutrient loss possibly due to their slow-release properties.

Application of adequate fertilizers becomes one of the most important agronomic practices to sustain corn production on soils of the tropical regions, which are mostly acidic and poor in nutrients. An experiment under rain shelter was conducted at the Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang to evaluate the influence of different NPK fertilizer rates on the biomass and yield components of sweet corn. The experiment was carried out using split plot design with four replications. Three drip irrigation frequencies as a main plot: [Once in 2 days (Ir1), once in 3 days (Ir2) and once in 4 days irrigations (Ir3)] and four NPK fertilizer rates as sub-plot [0:0:0 (0%), 60:30:45 (50%), 120:60:90 (100%) and 180:90:135 (150%), henceforth referred to as F1, F2, F3 and F4, respectively] were tested in this experiment. The results of the study showed that total dry matter significantly (P<0.05) increased with increase in the irrigation frequencies. For Ir1 treatments at F4 fertilizer rate, the shoot dry weight was higher compared to the other fertilizer rates due to better nutrient supply to the plant. Similarly, irrigation frequency and fertilizer levels significantly (P<0.05) influenced the yield components. Ear, cob and grain were found to have higher weight for once in 2 days irrigation frequency with fertilizer level of F4. When fertilizer rate was increased from 100% (F3) to 150% (F4), ear, cob and grain weight were increased by 25%, 39% and 23%, respectively.

The impacts of land use/cover changes (LUCC) on a developed basin in Malaysia were evaluated. Three storm events in different intensities and durations were required for KINEROS2 (K2) calibration and LUCC impact analysis. K2 validation was performed using three other rainfall events. Calibration results showed excellent and very good fittings for runoff and sediment simulations based on the aggregated measure. Validation results demonstrated that the K2 is reliable for runoff modelling, while K2 application for sediment simulation was only valid for the period 1984-1997. LUCC impacts analysis revealed that direct runoff and sediment discharge increased with the progress of urban development and unmanaged agricultural activities. These observations were supported by the NDVI, landscape and hydrological trend analyses.

The application of an event based physical model, KINEROS2, on a developed tropical watershed in Malaysia was evaluated. Three storm events in different intensities and durations were required for KINEROS2 (K2) calibration. K2 validation was done using two other rainfall events before and after the calibration year. Calibration results showed excellent and very good fittings for runoff and sediment simulations based on the aggregated measure. Validation results demonstrated that the K2 was reliable for runoff modelling while the K2 application for sediment simulation was only valid for the period 1984-1997.

Several existing aggregate stability indices are commonly used to represent aggregate stability of soil. Consequently, there is a need to determine how well these common indices characterize or represent aggregate stability. The main objective of this study was to use a multivariate statistical method called factor analysis to determine the effectiveness of eight common indices in measuring aggregate stability. Eighty soil samples (Oxisols and Ultisols) were taken from soil depth of 0-150 mm and from different land uses, such as oil palm, coffee, tea, rubber, pine, fallow, vegetables, and grassland. Aggregate stability of these soils were determined by wet-sieving and water dispersion of the primary particles. Eight aggregate stability indices were used: AIA (average fraction of intact aggregates), WSA >0.3 and >0.5 (water-stable aggregates larger than size 0.3 and 0.5 mm, respectively), MWD (mean weight diameter), CR (clay ratio), WDC (water-dispersible clay), WDCS (water-dispersible clay plus silt), and TP (turbidity percentage). The factor analysis showed that all the aggregate stability indices were related to two common factors, namely, aggregate breakdown resistance and dispersion. By determining how well an aggregate stability index is correlated to either one or both these common factors, the factor analysis ranked the effectiveness of the indices as follows: WSA >0.3 = WDCS > AIA > MWD > WDC > CR. Due to the fact that WSA >0.5 is correlated very strongly with WSA >0.3, both the indices ought to be as effective as the other. The TP index, however, had a questionable efficacy as an aggregate stability index. Based on the findings of this study, it was therefore concluded that only two indices, WSA >0.3 (or WSA >0.5) and WDCS, were sufficient to represent the whole soil aggregate stability.

x-library is a C++ object-oriented framework for modelling the partitioning of captured solar radiation and evapotranspiration in intercropping systems. The design and analysis of the x-library are done to ensure that the soil-plant-atmosphere system is categorised into classes, such as weather, microclimate, intercrop, crop, canopy, leaf, roots, soil, heat, and radiation. Meanwhile, x-library implements two kinds of solar radiation models; namely, one-dimensional (1-D), and two-dimensional (2-D) model, where irradiance varies in one dimension (vertical) and in two dimensions (vertical and horizontal), respectively. Radiation partitioning is based on weighting criteria so that a crop having the larger leaf area index and extinction coefficient would have greater share of captured radiation. Evapotranspiration partitioning is calculated using the Shuttleworth- Wallace equation. Model comparisons with a field experiment showed an overall good agreement between the simulated and measured solar radiation and transpiration values. A graphical user interface front-end for the x-library known as the x-model was also developed, primarily for non-modellers and non-programmers.

This study was carried out to determine the distribution of organic matter and its constituents, as well asother soil properties, in various aggregate size fractions for four soil types in Malaysia, and to investigate therelationship and relative importance of these soil properties on aggregate stability. The four soil series withcontrasting particle size distributions used were Munchong (Typic Hapludox), Melaka (Xanthic Hapludox),Rengam (Typic Paleudult), and Bungor (Typic Paleudult). The top soil, i.e. 0-15 cm of the soils of the four soilseries was sampled and analyzed for their particle size distribution, aggregation, aggregate stability, organicmatter, humic acids (HA), fulvic acids (FA), polysaccharides, functional groups of HA and FA (carboxylic,COOH, and phenolic-OH), and free Fe and Al oxides. Multiple linear regression revealed that silt, followedby free Fe oxides, fine sand, FA-OH, and HA-COOH, were the most important soil constituents to explainthe observed differences in the aggregate stability between the four soil types. Generally, as the aggregatesize decreased, the amount of clay, silt, OM, and free Fe oxides would also increase, while the aggregationand the amount of sand would decrease. As for the Rengam and Bungor series, the aggregate stability wouldgenerally increase with the decreasing aggregate size. Meanwhile, the observed differences in the amountsof HA, FA, and polysaccharides were mainly due to the differences in the soil types.

Using spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel for building crop models and running simulations can be beneficial. Excel is easy to use, powerful, and versatile, and it requires the least proficiency in computer programming compared to other programming platforms. Excel, however, has several weaknesses: it does not directly support loops for iterative calculations, and it does not allow one cell to alter the contents of another cell. Thus, the objective of this study was to develop an Excel add-in, called BuildIt, that overcomes some of Excel's weaknesses by: (1) providing a loop for repetitive calculations and (2) providing several operations (called actions) typically needed in building crop models. These actions are such as for numerical integration, initialization of variables, and solving differential equations using the Runge-Kutta method, as well as for copying and manipulation of cell ranges. BuildIt was written in Excel's script language, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), but it does not require users to program in VBA to build their models. Several examples of models were used in this article to illustrate how BuildIt implements the infrastructure in Excel, and how it can be used to build models and run model simulations. With BuildIt, users are able to use Excel to build and run their mathematical models, without requiring any knowledge in VBA.

Corn (Zea mays L.) is planted in two seasons per year in northern Iran (mid-April as a main crop and mid-June as a second crop). The main objective of this study was to determine whether corn yield response would differ between these two seasons and different plant populations. Two field experiments were conducted at the Agricultural Research Center of Golestan - Iran in 2007 and 2008 at different planting densities. The results showed that the values of grain yield and most traits were significantly lower in the second season. Maximum grain yield was observed at planting densities of 6.5 plants m -2 in the first season, whereas in the second season grain yield was the same for planting densities between 2.5 and 12.5 plants m -2. Based on the second-year experimental results, the following functions were fitted to show the relationship between yield ha -1 (Y) and planting densities (X) for the first and second seasons, respectively: (Y = -167.6X 2 + 2672.2X + 511.77; R 2 = 0.992) and (Y = 1200.1 ln(X) + 2924.4; R 2 = 0.935). This study found that the optimum plant population was 6.5 plants m -2 under low heat stress, and should be reduced to 2.5-4.5 plants m -2 under heat stress conditions.

The effectiveness of mulching materials, empty fruit bunches (EFB) and EFB mat (Ecomat) and the construction of soil trenches (silt pits) as soil water and nutrient conservation methods, have yet to be compared against one another in any single study. Moreover, as compared to the EFB studies, much less has been studied on the effectiveness of Ecomat and silt pit to improve soil properties and conserve water. Thus, this study was undertaken to compare the effects of the EFB, Ecomat, silt pit, and control (stacked pruned oil palm fronds) on several soil properties at soil depths of 0-150 and 150-300 mm, over a period of six months, at an oil palm estate with a hill slope of 6°. This study found that in just a period of six months, there were significant effects of the four treatments on the soil chemical and physical properties. Overall, the EFB was found to be the best treatment to improve the chemical properties of soil in both depths (CEC, Ca, Mg, K, P, C, and pH). However, both the EFB and Ecomat gave similar values for the soil available water content and aggregate stability. The mean daily total soil water content (up to 1 m depth) for the EFB, Ecomat, and control were found to be insignificantly different from one another, but silt pit had the statistically lowest total soil water content. The soil water distribution under the Ecomat mulches was rather uniform throughout the soil depths (up to 1 m), whereas in the EFB and silt pit treatments, the soil water tended to be concentrated at the upper soil layers until 0.6 m depth, with the concentration of water restricted to a shallower depth for silt pit as compared to the EFB. As for the control, water concentrated mostly below 0.5 m depth. This study is on-going, but the results have so far indicated that the EFB, followed by Ecomat, is the best soil and water conservation method, particularly to improving the chemical properties of soil. Ecomat, due to its lower nutrient content than EFB, generally did not impr

The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of the Saxton-Rawls method in estimating the soil water characteristics of a wide range of mineral soils of Malaysia. This study found that it was necessary to calibrate the Saxton-Rawls method for the soils of Malaysia. The developed equation for calibration was Pti = a $ Pi ]1 - Pig, where Pi and Pi t are the uncalibrated and calibrated estimated values, respectively, for the soil sample no. i, and the parameter values of a were 2.225, 1.605, and 1.528 (for saturation, field capacity, and permanent wilting point) respectively. The calibrated method was validated against three independent soil data sets. The validation tests showed that the calibrated method remained stable and was more accurate than that without any calibration, by an average between 8 to 49%.

The main objectives of this study were to determine the physical changes in oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) and EFB mat (Ecomat), which were used as soil mulching materials, during their decomposition in the field, as well as to compare the soil water content under these mulches and with bare soil. A field experiment was conducted at an estate using ten-year-old oil palm trees. Experimental design was a Randomized Complete Block with two treatments (EFB and Ecomat) and three replications. EFB was applied at 1000 kg palm-1 as a single layer on the soil surface. Ecomat was applied as a single layer with an area of 4 m2. Physical properties of EFB and Ecomat, measured every two month for six months, were bulk density, water content, water retention, and saturated hydraulic conductivity. Soil water content up to 750 mm depth was further measured on a daily basis. Results showed that EFB was better than Ecomat as a mulching material to conserve soil water. As compared to Ecomat, EFB had a lower bulk density (two times less dense), higher saturated hydraulic conductivity (about two times higher) and higher water content (between 20 to 57% more water). EFB was also found to hold its water more strongly than Ecomat. On average, the soil under EFB mulches had, nearly 27% more water than the soil under Ecomat mulches, and 38% more than bare soil. The soil under Ecomat mulches had only 8% more water than bare soil on average. Based on the model simulations, 5 layers of Ecomat would conserve as much soil water as 1 layer of EFB. Both mulching materials were estimated to fully decompose in the field in about 9 months.

Leaf area and leaf weight measurements are required to calculate several growth indices, which are leaf area index (LAI), net assimilation rate (NAR), specific leaf area (SLA), specific leaf weight (SLW), and leaf area duration (LAD). We developed three predictive equations to estimate leaf area, leaf fresh and dry weight in maize from leaf length and leaf width measurements. A total of 1,314 leaves from different parts of plants at different plant growth stages, different planting densities and different sowing dates were collected in 2008 at the Agricultural Research Center near Gorgan, Golestan, Iran. To evaluate the equations, some goodness of fit indicators used included mean absolute error, root mean square error and index of agreement. This study found strong relationships between leaf length and leaf width and LA, LFW and LDW (R2 > 0.85). Based on the results LA, LFW and LDW of individual maize leaves can be estimated non-destructively by leaf length and leaf width. These equations allow the research workers to make non-destructive or repeat measurements on the same leaves. The general equation to estimate LA, LFW, and LDW was: Ln (Y) = a + b Ln (L) + c Ln (W).

Problem statement: Intercropping has been shown to have many advantages but it is fallacious to conclude it is always a better cropping system. Little is known about a new double-hedgerow intercropping of rubber, banana and pineapple in relation to its effects on growth and yield of the component crops when compared to their monocrops. Simulation modeling offers a cheaper and faster alternative to explore cropping scenarios and estimate their productivity under a wide range of management and environmental conditions. This simulation study was therefore undertaken to evaluate the growth and yield of immature rubber, banana and pineapple intercrop and monocrop scenarios with the aid of an intercrop simulation model named SURHIS, as well as estimating the intercropping advantage. Approach: A FORTRAN computer model (SURHIS) that simulated the daily light interception and utilization by immature-rubber, banana and pineapple intercropping system was used to simulate intercrop and monocrop scenarios to estimate potential Dry Matter Yield (DMY) for all crops as well as fruit yields for banana and pineapple. The results of the model were tested for accuracy by comparing actual field experimental results with the aid of Mean Deviation (MD) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) statistical analyses. Intercropping advantage was assessed using the Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) analysis. Results: The model was representative or predicted DMY of the crops with sufficient accuracy. The LER analysis showed that the intercropping system had a dry matter yield productivity advantage of 81% more than monocrops of the component crops. The results also showed that the higher the Plant Population Density (PPD), the greater is the dry matter yield. It was also shown that banana and pineapple had no deleterious effect on the growth of rubber. Fruit weight per plant of banana and pineapple was reduced with increase in PPD for the monocrops. Measured average fresh fruit bunch weight for banana was 18 k

Intercropping is not fancied in high input agriculture of developed countries but it is widely practiced in the agriculture of developing countries. It is now being accepted that well managed intercropping systems are stable and sustainable. An ecophysiological model using the Fortran Simulation Environment (FSE) was used to simulate the leaf area growth of an intercropping system of immature-rubber, banana and pineapple under potential crop growth conditions. The leaf growth for each crop was smimulated based on the amount of dry matter partitioned to the leaves after after respiratory losses were discounted from individual crop light interception and carbohydrate assimilation of the intercrop. At 600 days after planting (DAP) the simulated leaf index (LAI) of rubber and pineapple was on average 1.4 respectively. The simulated LAI for the parent crop of banana was about 4.3 at peak growth (150 DAP), and at the same time the simulated LAI of the first ratoon crop was about 2.7. The mean absolute error (MAE) between simulated and observed LAI for rubber, mother banana, first ratoon banana and pineapple was 7.7%, 15.2%, 27% and 6.4% respectively. This indicates that the leaf area index was simulated with good accuracy but there is scope for improvement.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of rotary tillage on some soil physical properties (bulk density, cone index, plasticity index, aggregate uniformity coefficient) and organic matter, and to develop and evaluate a soil tilth index based on changes of these soil properties. The tillage treatments were 4×3 factorial combinations of forward speeds obtained with four selected tractor transmission gears (Gear 1 High, Gear 2 Low, Gear 3 Low and Gear 4 Low), and three rotary tilling speeds (140 rpm, 175 rpm and 200 rpm) of commonly used tillage implements in Malaysian paddy fields. Experimental results indicated a significant decrease in bulk density of the soil due to rotary tillage. The other soil parameters were not significantly affected by the tillage operation. Analysis of variance indicated significant difference (p<0.01) among the rice yield means. Bulk density was identified to have a high positive correlation with the rice yield. A tilth index consequently developed with bulk density, cone index and plasticity index gave better predictability (r2= 0.56) of rice yield than when individual soil properties were considered. Results of the study suggest that tilth index may assist in yield prediction by comparing measured soil conditions in a paddy field.