InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Palm oil plantation as one strategic commodity, should be planted by having deep understanding to its characteristic. Besides the planting, it needs to understand kinds of area, climate, strategies to design blocks in the plantations, zero burning, these would play important roles to get good production. In addition, understanding palm oil would be the good modal to get successful cultivation.
Arie Malangyodo, one palm oil practitioner nationally, he noted that palm oil needs the right kinds of soil. Though the soil and climate may be good to plant it, it is better to know more about the two. Palm oil would grow well in the tropical region and hot condition in every year within the optimal temperature, 28 to 32 Celsius degree. The ideal height to be planted is between 1 ‐ 500 meter on the sea surface. The wind should be 5‐6 km/hour to help the pollination process.
Palm oil tree needs longer sunshine, about 5 – 7 hours per day. This would support good photosynthesis process, the leaves, midrib would grow wider optimally and fresh fruit bunch (FFB) would be more too. It needs to remind that palm oil needs much water. If the rain falls less than 1.500 mm per year and the dry season is more than 5 months in one year, the midrib would not grow perfectly.
Besides the climate and the water needs, palm oil needs kinds of soil. Palm oil tree relatively needs flat ground, thick layer in the soil, fertile soil. The area should have much clay with pH of the soil 4‐6. These would be the good option. Latosol, Ultisol and Aluvial, gambut sapric soil, the area near the sea-shore and estuary of the river could be planted by palm oil.
It is important to plant it in relatively flat ground. If it is wavy or hilly ground, the harvest process would be more difficult and there would be more expensive cost to pay. The erosion could take place easily in hilly areas and may make the fertile soil eroded too. Besides, the roots would be difficult to penetrate to hard areas and there would be issue for the tree to grow.
Avoid to plant palm oil tree in the region having much water in the surface for a long time. This would make the tree not grow well. To get many FFB production, palm oil tree should have enough nutrients by giving fertilizers.
By understanding environmental characteristics and soil, smallholders would escalate plantation productivity and quality. This would deliver advantages for smallholders not only economically, but also contribute to sustainable palm oil plantations in a whole. (T2)
