Field Handbooks

A comprehensive set of field handbooks for oil palm management

The Oil Palm Handbooks, written by Ian Rankine and Thomas Fairhurst,  were first published in 1998. These handbooks were designed to provide a clear step-by-step guide to the cultivation of oil palm, from sourcing seeds for a nursery to harvesting mature fruit bunches and palm oil processing. This ‘recipe’ style approach has proven to be successful with over 30,000 copies sold internationally, including translations into Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, Spanish, and Hindi. 

Since 1998, when the volumes on Nursery, Immature and Mature were originally published, there have been significant developments in oil palm management. In collaboration with Ian Rankine and William Griffiths, Tropical Crop Consultants has produced a completely revised and updated version of the original handbooks and added two new volumes:

• Agronomy (focusing on the services required of a Technical Services Department).
• General (providing information on human resource management and general management procedures).

Oil Palm Series – Field Handbook (2017)

The new edition will retain the original easy-to-follow ‘recipe’ style approach with respect to the layout and format of the books. Where the old editions of the handbooks were mainly relevant to locations in Southeast Asia, the new 2017 handbooks will incorporate additional experience gained over the past eight years on oil palm cultivation in Africa, South and Central America. 

The handbook series will also be available as e-Books (for use on desktop and laptop computers as well as Android and iOS tablets and smartphones). The eBooks will be comprehensively cross-referenced and provide web links to relevant suppliers of specialist equipment and materials.

As in the past, hardcopies of the handbooks will be spiral-bound and printed on waterproof paper to ensure easy-access and durability in the field.

We have prepared a contemporary, fully up-to-date, easy-to-use set of handbooks that can be used by everyone from the individual smallholder farmers to multinational Oil Palm companies. Not only do we provide the hard-copy waterproof, sprial bound books (as in the old editions), but these editions will also be available as an ebook that can be used on electronic devices such as smart phones, tablets, laptops in the field!

“The IPNI Oil Palm Handbooks have been used widely across the oil palm regions, with translations in Spanish and Bahasa Indonesia. TCCL will release new editions of the original three handbooks (Nursery, Immature, Mature) and two new volumes (Agronomy, General) in 2017”

Key benefits of TCCL Field Handbooks:

• All aspects of field management covered – from sourcing seeds to processing palm oil
• Easy-to-follow ‘recipe’ style approach to the layout and format of the books
• High quality photos depicting ‘real-life’ examples of concepts
• Specially designed original graphics to explain and illustrate key concepts
• Key calculations presented in tables that show full workings (units, parameters, and formulae)

• eBook versions available for desktop and laptop computers as well as Android and iOS tablets and smartphones
• Durable print versions are spiral-bound and water resistant for effective use in field conditions

The TCCL Field Handbooks are ideal for:

• new entrants to the oil palm industry who want to acquire comprehensive knowledge of oil palm management
• use in training programs
• standard reference for managers

All handbooks will be available for purchase in Februrary 2018

To place your order or to find out more, please contact frond17@tropcropconsult.com