**4. Palm oil-growing states in India**

### **4.1 Botany of palm oil**

Palm oil (*Elaeis guineensis* Jacq.) belonging to the family Arecaceae is considered as a smallholder's irrigated crop in India. It is a monoecious plant, belonging to Kingdom Plantae and Order Arecales. The term "*Elaeis*" was derived from the Greek word "Elalon" meaning oil, while "guineensis" is attached with its origin to Guinea Coast [2]. The other species of commercial importance identified under this genus are *Elaeis olifera* and *Elaeis*  *odora. Elaeis olifera* is generally known as American palm oil. *E. guineensis* is native to West Africa occurring between Angola and Gambia, while American palm oil (*Elaeis olifera*) is native to tropical Central America and South America.

At present, palm oil exists in the wild, semi-wild, and cultivated forms, in three main areas of the equatorial tropical region. It is cultivated in 42 countries of the world and is largely used as edible cooking oil. The most important palm oil-growing countries include Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Columbia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, *Cote d' Ivorie*, India, and Congo.

Portuguese introduced palm oil into Brazil and other tropical countries during the fifteenth century, while Dutch imported palm oil seeds from Africa and planted four seedlings at Buitenzorg (Bogor) Botanical Gardens in Java, Indonesia, during the year 1848. Commercial planting of palm oil was started in Malaysia from 1917 onward.

Indonesia ranks first in the Palm oil production with 32.60 million tonnes with a productivity of 3.57 tonnes of oil per hectare, whereas Malaysia ranks second with the production of about 18.93 million tonnes with a productivity of 3.83 tonnes of oil produced per hectare. In India, the total fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production and crude palm oil (CPO) are 12.82 lakh tones and 2.17 lakh tones respectively of which 11.44 lakh tonnes of FFB and 1.93 lakh tonnes of CPO are produced from Andhra Pradesh only (Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, 2015–2016). India's share in the world's palm oil production is only 0.20%. At present, in India, palm oil is cultivated in an area of about 3.01 lakh hectares with an average productivity of 30–35 tonnes of FFB/ha/year.

Palm oil is a tropical plant that grows commonly in the hot and humid tropical climatic conditions with optimal temperatures ranging from 80–90o F. Henry [3] and Ferwerda [4] reported that an average daily temperature which is below 75°F is highly favorable for the cultivation of palm oil. Evenly distributed annual rainfall ranging from 2000 to 3000 mm is highly congenial for its growth and development. Zhu *et al.* [5] have reported that plants receiving direct sunlight of 5–7 hours per day have been found very much beneficial for optimal growth and development. Therefore, an adequate supply of water and the proper temperature has been identified as the most important factors in determining the yield of palm oil.

*E. guineensis* is a large pinnate leaved palm having a solitary columnar stem with short internodes. There are short spines on the leaf petiole and within the fruit bunch [6]. Palm oil is monoecious [7]—male and female inflorescences are produced separately on the same palm in cycles. The inflorescence is a compound
