Peat (with a total national area of approximately 2.6 million hectares) is a problem soil (Mutalib et al., 1991). The inherent physical and chemical properties of peat make its development for oil palm cultivation diffi cult and costly. Low bulk density, high water table and subsidence are among the major physical properties of peat that need amelioration for successful cultivation of oil palm. Leaning of the palms is among the major problems that seriously affect palm growth and yield, and poses diffi culty to the management of oil palm on deep peat. Mohd Tayeb et al. (1996) reported that the severe leaning of palms resulted in a sharp early drop in yield, followed by a slow recovery taking three to fi ve years. Leaning is infl uenced by several factors, such as land preparation, planting technique, planting density, depth of watertable as well as the peat depth and decomposition stage. Several workers have worked on overcoming the problems, especially in land preparation and planting (Gurmit et al., 1987; Mohd Tayeb et al., 1996).

Main Research: Hasnol Othman