InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA - In several areas, the dry season is arriving and rising temperatures are becoming a nightmare for palm oil players. Threats of unformed flowers, failed fruit growth, and declining harvests. To keep production high, anticipatory strategies are needed that do not just rely on rain.
Not many sectors are as dependent on weather as palm oil plantations. For planters, weather is not just a variable, but also a partner—or even an opponent. When the sky refuses to rain and temperatures keep rising, palm oil responds with signals that cannot be ignored. One of them is declining productivity.
This is generally felt by palm oil plantation players across Indonesia. “2024 production experienced a decline compared to 2023. One of the main causes is the water deficit that occurred in the previous year,” said Marlon Sitanggang, Agronomy Division Head USTP, when speaking with InfoSAWIT, late May 2025.
Drought not only changes soil consistency to hard and cracked. More than that, it deeply disrupts the palm tree's life cycle. Marlon explained the physiological symptoms clearly visible during prolonged dry seasons, including three or more spear leaves not opening. “That means the plant is postponing the flower formation process. This is very serious, because it means the fruit formation process is also delayed—and in some cases, it can fail completely,” said Marlon.
Another symptom that appears after rain returns becomes a new challenge, namely broken fronds. “Fronds broken at the base. This complicates the harvesting process and physiologically disrupts the photosynthesis process,” he said.
This phenomenon is not new in palm oil agronomy. Several studies, such as those conducted by Corley & Tinker in The Oil Palm (2016), state that palm oil is very sensitive to water deficits. Water shortages during the flower differentiation phase can cause male flower dominance, average bunch weight (ABW) decline, fruit number reduction, and ultimately significantly impact yield. (*)
