HARYANI H.*, NORLINDAWATI A. P., ASWANIMIYUNI A., AZMAN A. AND ZUL EDHAM W.
Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is a thick, brownish liquid effluent comprising large amounts of solids and high organic content, convertible into a valuable source of biomass. Based on the nutrient content of POME, this waste has the potential to be utilised as an organic fertiliser. The objectives of this study were to enhance the yield and improve the quality of Taiwan Napier grass especially for crude protein and metabolised energy values using POME in the soil. The standard rate of basal fertiliser was used with applications of 5 metric tonnes POME (55% to 60% dry matter, pH 4.8) per hectare. The grass was cut close to the ground level to get a uniform stand 70 days after planting and then cut at intervals of 60 days for three times. After each harvest, a rated portion of maintenance fertiliser was applied. The Napier plants were cut about 10 cm from the ground and cut plants were weight. Random samples of Napier, representative of each plot were sent for dry matter yield and proximate analysis. The data were analysed using Statistical Analysis System (SAS) followed by Tukey?s post-hoc test. A p-value of less than 0.05 (p<0.05) was considered statistically significant. Results showed that Napier grass with POME treatment gave higher fresh yield, crude protein content and metabolised energy compared to control grass.