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21:30, 10 October 2016 [[Image:SNV logo.png|right|100px|link=http://www.snv.org/]]
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Download: [http://intothefield.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Module-1-3rd-edition-2016-08.pdf Module 1: Planting Material]
===Goal===
* Be able to establish if the productive palms in the plantation are of good ''tenera'' type or mixed with ''dura'';
* Be able to identify how many ''dura'' palms there are, if any;
* Be aware of the possibility to increase productivity by finding all unproductive palms and cutting them down;
* Be able to identify if problems with the mill or large price deductions can be expected in the future.
===Standard===
* Farmers know exactly what their planting material is;
* If there are ''dura'' palms, they are marked;
* If there are ''pisifera'' palms, they are removed.
'''Note:''' if the plantation was planted by a company (plasma), it is not necessary to check the planting material because plantation companies usually buy and plant good quality seeds only.
===Timing===
* As soon as possible after the plantation becomes productive; or
* At the start of the plantation rehabilitation.
===Frequency===
Once in the plantation lifetime, at every harvesting round until all the palms have been tested.
===Labour time required===
* Testing 20 palms: 1 hour;
* Marking 20 palms: 0.5 hour;
* Testing all palms: 1 hour per harvest until all palms are done
===Equipment and materials===
* Blue and red spray paint
* Bush knife
* Notebook
===Who===
Farmers and their family or hired labourers.
===How===
If the planting material is of good quality, then less than 1 in 100 palms should be ''dura'', and all other palms should be ''tenera''. The planting material can be tested by following these steps:
{| style="border: 1px solid #72CDFF" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
|width="15%" valign="top"|'''Step 1.'''
|At the time of harvest, select a palm that has just had a bunch of fruit harvested.
|-
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#f0f8ff;" |'''Step 2.'''
|style="background:#f0f8ff;" |Collect four (loose) fruits from the bunch.
|-
|width="15%" valign="top" |'''Step 3.'''
|Cut the ripe fruits with a machete. Make sure to cut neatly in the middle, otherwise it will be difficult to see the shell thickness correctly (see [http://akvopedia.org/sandbox/File:Oil-palm-1.3-figure10.png Figure 10]).
|-
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#f0f8ff;" |'''Step 4.'''
|style="background:#f0f8ff;" |Examine the shells of the fruits and determine for each fruit if it is ''dura'' or ''tenera''. Use [http://akvopedia.org/sandbox/File:Oil-palm-1.1-figure3.png Figure 3], [http://akvopedia.org/sandbox/File:Oil-palm-1.1-figure4.png Figure 4] and [http://akvopedia.org/sandbox/File:Oil-palm-1.3-figure10.png Figure 10] as a guide. ''Tenera'' fruit, apart from having a thin shell, usually also has some brown-black fibres around the kernel (see [http://akvopedia.org/sandbox/File:Oil-palm-1.1-figure3.png Figure 3]).
|-
|width="15%" valign="top"|'''Step 5.'''
|If all fruits in the bunch are ''tenera'': mark the palm (for example with blue paint) and then move on to the next palm.
|-
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#f0f8ff;" |'''Step 6.'''
|style="background:#f0f8ff;" |If a fruit could be a ''dura'': look carefully at all four fruits of the bunch to be sure they are ''dura''. The fruits can look a bit different in shape and size. If the fruits are definitely ''dura'', mark the palm (for example with red paint). '''Note:''' all fruits in one bunch are always of the same type (''dura'' or ''tenera''), and all bunches on one palm also!
|-
|width="15%" valign="top"|'''Step 7.'''
|Repeat process until 20 palms have been checked.
|-
|width="15%" valign="top" style="background:#f0f8ff;" |'''Step 8.'''
|style="background:#f0f8ff;" |If one or more ''dura'' palms are found, then all palms in the plantation should be tested by following the procedures described above at every harvesting round, marking each ''dura'' palm immediately with red paint, and each ''tenera'' palm with blue paint. Keep good track of which palms have already been tested.
|-
|width="15%" valign="top"|'''Step 9.'''
|Some palms may not produce any ripe bunches at all; this is especially likely in a plantation with some ''dura'' palms. If any empty palms are found, take the following steps:
* Monitor the palms over a one year period;
* If the palms do not produce any bunches during this time, then they are ‘sterile’. These sterile palms may be ''pisifera'' or they may be sterile for some other reason.
* Sterile palms should be poisoned or cut down, because they take fertilisers and sunlight but produce nothing!
|}
===Data recording===
[[Image:oil-palm-1.3-figure10.png|thumb|right|200px|Figure 10: Mixed planting material with several ''tenera'' and ''dura'' fruits.]]
In your plantation notebook, write down:
* Field size
* Number of palms in the plantation
* Number of ''tenera'' and ''dura'' palms
* Number of sterile/unproductive palms
For the activity of checking the palms, the table below can be used as an example.
{|border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
|rowspan="2" |'''Date'''
|rowspan="2" |'''Time'''
|rowspan="2" |'''Location'''
|rowspan="2" |'''Activity'''
|rowspan="2" |'''Input type'''
|rowspan="2" |'''Input amount'''
|rowspan="2" |'''Input costs'''
|colspan="2" |'''Labour input'''
|rowspan="2" |'''Labour costs'''
|-
|'''People'''
|'''Hours'''
|-
|16/01/13
|<!--empty-->
|Field 3
|Evaluating 20 palms for ''dura''
|Blue and red spray paint
|1 each
|40000
|2
|2
|40000
|}
===Acknowledgements===
The material from ''Evaluating farmer’s planting material'' is sourced from Smallholder Oil Palm Handbook and put together by Lotte Suzanne Woittiez ([http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/wageningen-university.htm Wageningen Universit]) and Haryono Sadikin, Sri Turhina, Hidayat Dani, Tri Purba Dukan, and Hans Smit ([http://www.snv.org/ SNV]) in August 2016. See [http://intothefield.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Module-1-3rd-edition-2016-08.pdf Module 1: Planting Material] for more information.
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