Province Or Area

[reallyok]

Can anybody say wether its benifical to grow PO in any specific area of Thailand , or does it produce equally all over provided trees are from quality stock which i am sure makes a hugh difference

[gregb]

The South is the best region. Malaysia and Indonesia are even better.

You ideally want an area that gets 2 meters of rain per year, evenly distributed over 12 months. If you can't get 2 meters of rain, or you have a long dry season, irrigation of about 200 litres per tree per day can help to recover some of the lost yield. You need to make sure it doesn't get too cold though. If you're going to get up towards Issan or even some places in the central valley, make sure you get one of the cold tolerant strains bred in Costa Rica. The typical ones you get here in Thailand won't cut it.

Stay away from land that is heavy in clay and doesn't drain water. The trees die easily when they are flooded. A nice loam or sandy soil is perfect, and they aren't too particular about salt. Root system goes down about 2 meters, so a hardpan higher than that can cause issues.

A rule of thumb is the further north you go, the lower your yield will be. However, when getting very far north, a bigger question is purchasing and processing. All the processing facilities are located in the south.

[zzaa09]

There is speculation that palm oil is soon to make a return boom time. Cash in while you can for the coming years.....