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Palm oil is a commodity that generally evokes images of mass deforestation, human-rights violations and dying orangutans. In Indonesia and Malaysia, where some 85% of the world's palm oil is produced, more than 16 million hectares of land — rainforest, peat bogs and old rubber plantations — have been taken over by oil palm, and there is no sign of the industry slowing down.
Despite its bad reputation, oil palm is the most productive oil crop in the world. Oilseed rape (canola) currently produces only about one-sixth of the oil per hectare — soya bean only one-tenth. But oil-palm plantations still aren't getting as much as they could out of their plants.
The main problem is that genetic and epigenetic variables can cause some palms to underproduce. And because oil palms mature slowly, growers typically don't know for three to four years whether the trees they plant will turn out to be star performers or worthless wood.
That's where Orion comes in. When the leaf punches sent out around southeast Asia return, Orion technicians process the disc of greenery within and can send growers a report on the quality of their young plants. Lakey predicts that, if adopted on a large scale, the test could raise industry revenue by about US$4 billion per year. And, importantly, it could do so without expanding plantations. "We can get more oil for an equivalent area of land — this could help take the pressure off deforestation," Lakey says.
The world's most hated crop is not kale?
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Sulla on Thursday March 16 2017, @04:00PM (6 children)
I regularly use tobacco as a way to remove aphids and wasps from my garden. A few strong tobacco plants pull the aphids of of the rest of the garden to attack it, they of course die from the nicotine. Then the wasps eat the dead aphids and die. I love seeing a ring of dead yellow jackets and wasps around the tobacco plants.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Thursday March 16 2017, @04:20PM (2 children)
Almost any other member of the Solanaceae family will be a better choice for mixed crops.
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(Score: 2) by rondon on Thursday March 16 2017, @05:10PM (1 child)
So potatoes, chili peppers, or tomatoes would work?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 16 2017, @06:10PM
OP likely means they're all poor alternatives to just spraying some nicotine but at least you get to eat the stuff that isn't tobacco.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 16 2017, @04:48PM (2 children)
Seems like a very good use. But I wonder if there are any over-reaching regulations against growing few of these plants.
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Thursday March 16 2017, @06:04PM (1 child)
I'd be more concerned about tobacco hornworms getting to my tomatoes :(
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(Score: 2) by Sulla on Thursday March 16 2017, @06:50PM
So far have not had an issue with that, which I am kind of sad about because I love big caterpillers.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam