New research reveals that adopting lower-intensity management in coconut palm plantations sustains or even elevates crop yields while enhancing soil health. This method curbs harmful pathogens and encourages beneficial mycorrhizal fungi, establishing a viable strategy for sustainable tropical agriculture.
Co-author Ben Roberts stated, “Palm species are fantastic and extremely important crops. Oil palm, for example, produces over 40% of the world’s vegetable oil while using less than 6% of the global land allotted to vegetable oils. If we can find ways to maintain these high yields while reducing the environmental issues which palm crops are so famous for, that’s really quite exciting.”
Researchers conducted the study at a long-established experimental coconut plantation in Côte d’Ivoire, utilizing detailed DNA-based inventories of soil biodiversity. Professor Tilly Collins, Deputy Director of the Centre for Environmental Policy, noted, “We are fortunate to have international collaborations which permit inspiring research to deliver real-world impact.”
The effort involved Imperial College London’s Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet and Centre for Environmental Policy, alongside Côte d’Ivoire’s Centre National de Recherche Agronomique. By integrating microbial profiling with long-term yield records, the team assessed how varying management practices influence productivity and supporting ecosystems.
Challenging Traditional Practices
Palm crops like coconut and oil palm expand rapidly worldwide to satisfy rising vegetable oil demand. Oil palm production has tripled since 2000, with coconut among the top five vegetable oils produced. Plantation growth frequently replaces tropical forests, leading to biodiversity decline, soil erosion, and ecological challenges.
Conventional intensive methods, such as clearing undergrowth and intensive soil tillage, aim to maximize yields but face scrutiny. The study evaluated management intensities from high (cleared undergrowth) to low (preserved ground vegetation). Results show intermediate practices match or exceed high-intensity yields, delivering economic and environmental advantages.
Soil Fungi Drive Productivity Gains
Mycorrhizal fungi symbiotically aid coconut roots in nutrient absorption and growth. Intensive practices disrupt these bonds, favoring pathogens like Pestalotiopsis and Lasiodiplodia that diminish yields and long-term viability.
Professor Vincent Savolainen, Director of Imperial’s Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, explained, “Lower-intensity management that preserves ground vegetation can enhance both crop yields and soil health by fostering beneficial soil biodiversity.” Diverse soil communities under lower intensity suppress pathogens and bolster mycorrhizal fungi, improving crop resilience.
Savolainen added, “By fostering a diverse soil community, lower-intensity practices suppress harmful pathogens while promoting beneficial mycorrhizal fungi. This combination supports both crop health and soil resilience.”
Farmer Benefits and Practicality
Lower-intensity approaches promise substantial gains. At standard densities and prices, farmers could earn an extra USD 800–1,200 per hectare yearly, akin to 1,800–2,700 more coconuts per hectare. These changes require minimal effort, suiting smallholder farmers in tropical Africa.
Persistent high-intensity methods risk yield drops and biodiversity loss, endangering soil and sustainability. This research pioneers links between biodiversity, pathogens, and yields in African coconut plantations, proving ecological balance boosts productivity.
Rhynco: Bridging Research to Practice
Authors Ben Roberts and Hamish Duncalf-Youngson founded Rhynco, a startup applying palm sustainability insights. Roberts described, “As well as deforestation and biodiversity loss, a key sustainability issue facing palm plantations is waste management. In plantations which cover a global area over twice that of the UK, waste trunks and fronds are continually produced in vast quantities. These are often burned or abandoned, presenting an environmental and social hazard through greenhouse gas and pollutant release.
“At Rhynco, we’re using insects to convert hazardous waste from coconut and oil palm growers into useful products—including oil, protein, and fertilizer. The aim is to sustainably strengthen production and livelihoods, providing the financial incentive for smallholders to adopt sustainable practices.”
These findings chart a course for biodiversity-friendly palm systems, enhancing farmer incomes and food security through Côte d’Ivoire collaborations.
Benjamin J. Roberts et al, Rethinking intensification: Biodiversity‐inclusive management sustains coconut yields, PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET (2026). DOI: 10.1002/ppp3.70208
