The Economic Importance and Kinds of Oil Crops

Oil crop, Economic importance of Oil crop, Kinds of Oil Crop,

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Oil crop production in the Philippines is a very promising agricultural enterprise. Aside from providing humans and animals with nutritious food, oil crops provide a variety of uses for industrial, medicinal, cosmetic, forage, and fertilizer preparation.
The following types of oil can be extracted from different oil crops.
1. Volatile oil. This type of oil can be used for perfume preparation and the manufacture of cosmetics, facial creams, shampoos, soaps, and lubricants.
2. Organic oil. This type of oil extracted from plants can be utilized in preparing insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and other chemicals used controlling insect pest and diseases.
3. Essential  and pure oil. This resembles that of gasoline and diesel and can be used for fuel purposes.
4. Lubricating oil. This type of oil extracted from plants is used as lubricant for machines, engines, and other equipment of the same kind.
5. Edible oil. This type of oil is very useful for household and culinary purposes. Some of the finished
products from this type of oil are cooking oil, cheese, and butter.

Kinds and Varieties of Oil Crops
Soybean. UPL-SY2, BPI-SY2, and BPI-SY$. It carries almost all characteristics of the ideal variety and matures within 90 days.
Sunflower. CLSUN-1. It matures in 90 to 95 days and has a yield potential of one to two tons per hectare.
Peanut. UPL-Pn2  and BPI-Pn6 which matures in 95 to 100 days. UPL-Pn4 which matures within 95 to 115 days.
Sesame. The only recommended variety of sesame for commercial crop production is Guatemala white. It matures from 90 to 100 days, highly adaptable, and resistant to pest and diseases.

Oil and Protein content of Selected Oil Crop

Oil Crop	Oil Content		Protein Content
	In Cake	In Seed	In Cake	In Seed
Sunflower	44%	37%	43%	16%
Sesame	44%	52%	40%	21%
Soybean	18%	79%	46%	36%
Peanut	40%	52%	50%	26%
Rapeseed	40%	56%	52%	27%

Peanut

Sunflower

Soybean

Sesame
Cultural Practices in Oil Crop Production
Factors that are observed in raising these crops;

1. Market. It is futile to raise any crop if there is no market for such a product. This statement is true in oil crop production.
2. Transportation facility. Proximity to good roads and better transportation facilities greatly affect the production and marketing of farm products. Good transportation facility can cause reduction of the production cost and an increase of the market profit.
3. Climate and Altitude. Adaptation has been proven in oil crop production. However, it is wise to select varieties of oil crops that will yield more under the prevailing conditions of the geographical region. 
4. Topography or contour of the land. Level land with good drainage is suitable for oil crop production. Gently sloping land, however, is preferable to provide good drainage especially during the rainy season.
5. Water supply. All kinds of commercial oil crops need abundant supply of water especially during dry season. During the growth and development stage, these plants needs higher soil moisture thus adequate water supply is very important.
6. Availability of the sunlight. Oil crop production must be located in places where sunlight is available almost the whole day.
7. Soil. The type of soil that is best suited for oil crop production are those which are well drained, medium-textured, moderately acidic with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5.

Management Practices of Oil Crop Production

Land Preparation. A thorough tillage operation should be done to fields for oil crop plantation. The frequency of plowing depends upon the presence of weeds, their types and varieties.

Planting and preparation of planting materials. Soybean, sunflower, peanut, and sesame are sexually propagated and planted directly into the soil. Seeds for planting must be treated to make sure that they are free from diseases and to maintain their high percentage of germination.
Generally, planting oil crops is done at the rate of two to three seeds per hill at a depth of three to five cm. two weeks after planting, pull out thin or weak seedlings to prevent overcrowding.

Application of fertilizer. Soil analysis is the basis for application of fertilizers to ensure proper growth of oil crops. Soil analysis should be done before application of fertilizer.

1. Sesame. Four bags of urea per hectare is the recommended rate for growing sesame. Urea should be applied just before hilling-up or 30 to 35 days after sowing five to seven cm away from the plant base within the rows.
2. Sunflower. Two to three bags of urea and two bags of complete fertilizer should be applied per hectare in a sunflower plantation.
3. Soybeans. The general practice in applying fertilizer for soybean is by using complete fertilizer (14-14-14) at the rate of three bags per hectare.
4. Peanut. Complete fertilizer is also recommended for peanut at the rate of three to four bags per hectare. The application of fertilizer is done before or after planting along furrows using the drill method.

Irrigation. The best way to irrigate oil crops is by furrow irrigation. This is an example of surface irrigation wherein water is allowed to flow in furrows until full length of furrows are covered. During dry season, the following general practice of irrigating the field is recommended.

• First irrigation-three to four days before furrowing. This is done by flooding the field.
• Second irrigation- one day after fertilizer application.
• Third irrigation- 40 days after seed emergence.
• Fourth irrigation- 55 days after seed emergence.
• Fifth irrigation- 71 days after seed emergence.

Weed control. Two weeding are generally practiced in oil crop production. the first weeding is often done after thinning or about 15 to 20 days after seed emergence. This is done through off-baring or by plowing the soil away from the plants. The second weeding should be done 14 to 21 after the first weeding.

 Crop protection. Prevention and control of insects pests and diseases is necessary among oil crops.

Harvesting, Post-Harvest Handling, and Marketing Oil Crop

Sunflower. Sunflower matures within 90 to 95 days. The heads are ready for harvest when the neck of flower disk turns from green to yellowish brown. to harvest, cut the stalk below the head using a scythe or lingkaw. Spread the harvest heads in a single layer on dry ground with their faces turn skyward. The heads are sufficiently dried when the seeds can be easily shattered.

Sesame. The crop can be harvested when the leaves of the plants turn yellowish. Using a scythe or lingkaw, cut the stalks and tie them to small bundles. Arrange the bundles upright to dry for three days or more depending on the weather condition. These bundles are ready for threshing when the seeds shatter easily.

Threshing can be done through the following method;

1. Beating with a bamboo or wooden stick.
2. Use of Carabao.
3. Use of ordinary file thresher.

Peanut. Peanut should be harvested when the leaves wither and turn yellow, pods turn to a brownish color, and the kernel loosens. Peanut can be harvested by merely hand pulling the plant if the soil is loose.

Marketing

Marketing oil crops sometimes poses a problem among small farmers. Big time businessman monopolize the production and processing oil crops in the country and dictate its market price while buying the produce of small farmer at a low price. To prevent such monopoly, cooperatives should be organized especially by small farmer raisers. 

If a direct-to-consumer trade cannot be done the following marketing schemes are suggested:

1. Farmer-Coop-NFA tie-up.
2. Farmer-NFA-Processor-tie-up.
3. Farmer-Local Trade tie-up.
4. Farmer-Processor tie-up

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