Crop Hectarage

A durian tree at Tangkak Farm with D24 clones.

Recently I asked a group of new Agriculture Officer attending Orientation Course at PLPP Air Hitam, Kluang. I was surprised when 90% of them do not understand the terminology of Crop Hectarage Equivalent and Physical Hectarage, I wonder 26 of them are trained in Agriculture Institute for two years and graduated. Do they really forgot or does not understand the terminology ?.. Or they shy to say so? For me that basic terminology are considered as basic knowledge in agriculture know-how.

CHE or Crop Hectarage Equivalent are the estimated hectarage from conversion of number of tree/crops that is equivalent to physical hectarage by using formula as below:

CHE = Numbers of tree/Density per ha

eg.

Number of durian tree in one whole village = 120 tree

Durian Density/hectare (std planting distance) = 60 tree

Therefore the CHE = 120/60

= 2 hectare

(2 hectare of CHE may found in 1 km2

village size when we do

actual counting by farm survey)

CHE normally used to indicate the Total Hectarage in one area from numbers of tree divided with planting density. It was suitable to use CHE calculation system for fruit tree grown in traditional orchard with few types of fruit tree such as durian, mangosteen, rambutan, duku, langsat, belimbing etc as it was grown as a mixed crop and not systematic as one single orchard . Enumerators has to count each fruit types and total-up for one whole village or area (Physical village area must known). After calculation all fruit tree in the area, total hectarage for each fruit tree may double, triple or more due to the overlapping CHE among the fruit tree.

Physical hecterage is defined as actual farm physical hectarage as shown on the Land Title Document. If document shows 0.5 hectare means the actual farm size is 0.5 hectare as Physical Hectarage. For 0.5 hectarage of area we can grow only 30 durian trees ( If 1 ha=60 tree) as sole crop. CHE is suitable to estimate farm production especially for fruit trees because not all fruit trees in mixed orchard will produce fruit in a season due to age, management, climate, water stress, disease, pest and other factors. CHE always count more than the Physical Hectarage. For short term crop such as leafy vegetable, we normally used CHE as a tool to estimate farm production in a year. For example 1 hectare of land planted 10 times of brassica in a year produced about 1,20 m.t. (If one hectare produce an avg. of 12 mt/ha/harvest).

I hope the young officer soon will mastered to use CHE!

'REMEMBER CHE.....BE SURE CHE...

IT WAS CROP HECTARAGE EQUIVALENT...

UNDERSTAND THE DEFINITIONS...

YOUR REPORT WILL BE CORRECT"

Related articles :
1. Crop Calendar (Click here)
2. Fruit Planting Density (Click here)
3. Mengira Nilai Sayuran (Klik disini)
4. Sayuran Popular di Malaysia (Klik disini)
5. Klon Buah Popular di Malaysia (Klik disini)


By,

M Anem

DOA Muar
Johor, Malaysia.