What are the land requirements for oil palm trees?

Oil palm plants can grow well in various types of soil. The most important thing is that the water needs are fulfilled. Soil that is good for oil palm cultivation is soil that is not flooded during the rainy season for a long time and does not lack water during the dry season.

a. Mineral Soil Land

Oil palm plants can grow well in soil with a pH level of 4-6.5. The optimum acidity level (pH) for palms is 5.0-5.5. Oil palm requires soil that is loose, fertile, flat, well drained (irrigated) and has a sufficiently deep solum layer (80 cm) without a solid layer.

The actual land suitability class is assessed from the characteristics of the land in the field, while the potential suitability class is assessed from the possibility of improvement from the limiting factor. The general suitability criteria for mineral soils for oil palm plants are presented in table 1 plengdut.com below.

Table 1. General suitability criteria for mineral land for oil palm

No.

Land characteristics

Symbol

Limiting Factor intensity

Without

Light

Moderate

Weight

 

 

 

0

1

2

3

1

Rainfall (mm)

H

1750-3000

1750-1500

1500-1250

<1250

2

Dry months (months)

K

<1

1-2

2-3

> 3

3

Altitude (m asl)

L

0-200

200-300

300-400

> 400

4

Region shape

W

Flat, Wavy

Choppy, wavy

1500-1250

<1250

5

Slope (%)

 

<8

8-15

 

 

6

Rocks on the surface and in the ground (% -volume)

B

<3

42064

15-40

> 40

7

Effective depth (cm)

S

> 100

100-75

75-50

<50

8

Soil texture

T

Dusty loam, sandy loam clay, dusty loam clay, loam clay.

Loam, sandy loam, sandy clay, clay.

Clay sand, dust.

Heavy loam, sand.

9

Drainage class

D

Fine, moderate.

Somewhat hampered, rather fast.

Fast; hampered.

Very fast, very hampered, inundated.

10

Soil acidity (pH)

A

5.0-6.0

4.0-5.0

6.0-6.5

3.5-4.0

6.5-7.0

<3.5

> 7.0

Types of Soil Suitable for Oil Palm Cultivation are:

  • Latosol soil: In tropical areas such as Indonesia, latosol soil can be red, brown and yellow. Latosol soil is formed in areas where the climate is also suitable for oil palm cultivation.
  • Alluvial Soil: Alluvial soil types are very important for oil palm trees, even though their fertility is different in each place.
In Sumatra, the types of land planted with oil palm include; - Laparitik latosol which is called podsolic red yellow,
  • Basalics, andesitic originating from old volcanic deposits,
  • Sediment from seas and rivers,
  • Alluvial soils covered with peat <10 cm thick.
Each class consists of one or more suitability units which further explain the number and intensity of limiting factors. Specifically for tidal areas, in addition to the criteria in table 1, the suitability criteria are added by 2 (two) parameters, namely sulfidic depth and salinity as in Table 2.

Table 2. Additional Land Suitability Criteria for Tidal Areas

No.

Characteristics

Symbol

Limiting Factor intensity

Without

Light

Moderate

Heavy

0

  1

2

3

1

Depth of Sulfidic (cm)

X

> 125

100 - 125

90 - 100

<90

2

Salinity (ms / cm)

C

<2

2-3

3-4

> 4

The levels of oil palm production that can be achieved for each land suitability class S1, S2, and S3 potentially are presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Potential Oil Palm Production Age 3-25 Years in Each Land Suitability Class

Age (years)

Productivity (ton / ha)

RJT (bunch / tree)

RBT (kg / bunch)

 

S1             

S2

S3

S1             

S2

S3

S1             

S2

S3

3

6.0

5.0

4

10.8

9.4

8

4.22

4.0

3.8

4

16.0

14.0

12

18.1

16.8

15.1

6.7

6.3

6.0

5

19.0

17.0

15

18.5

17.2

16.0

7.8

7.5

7.1

6

23.0

21.0

19

17.1

16.1

15.5

10.2

9.9

9.3

7

28.0

26.0

23

16.1

15.4

15.1

13.2

12.8

11.5

8

32.0

28.0

26

15.3

14.8

14.3

15.8

14.3

13.8

9

34.0

30.0

27

14.1

13

12.4

18.2

17.5

16.5

10

35.0

31.0

28

13.0

12.5

12.2

20.4

18.8

17.4

11

35.0

32.0

29

12.2

11.5

10.8

21.8

21.1

20.4

12

35.0

32.0

30

11,4

10.9

10.6

23.2

22.2

21.4

13

34.0

32.0

30

10.8

10.6

10.2

23.9

22.9

22.3

14

33.0

31.0

29.5

10.2

9.9

9.6

24.5

23.7

23.3

15

32.0

30.0

28.5

9,1

8.9

8.7

26.6

25.5

24.8

16

30.5

28.5

27

8.2

7.9

7,7

28.2

27.3

26.6

17

29.0

27.5

26

7,6

7.4

7,2

28.9

28.2

27.4

18

28.0

27.0

25

7,1

6.9

6,7

30.0

29.6

28.3

19

27.0

26.0

24

6,7

6.5

6.1

30.5

30.3

29.8

20

26.0

25.0

23

6.2

6.0

5,6

31.8

31.6

31.1

21

25.5

24.0

22

5,9

5.7

5.3

32.8

31.9

31.5

22

25.0

23.0

21

5.7

5,4

5.0

33.2

32.3

31.8

23

24.0

22.0

20

5,4

5.1

4,7

33.6

32.7

32.2

24

23.0

21.5

19.5

5.0

4,8

4,4

34.8

33.9

33.5

25

22.5

21.0

19.5

4,8

4.5

4,2

35.6

35.4

35.1

average

27.1

25.0

23.0

10.4

9.9

9.4

23.3

22.6

22.0

Information :

FFB = palm Fresh Fruit Bunches (tonnes / ha / yr);
RBT = palm average bunch weight (kg / bunch);
RJT = palm Average Number of Bunches (bunches / trees).

b. Peatlands

Due to the limited availability of land for palm oil, the cultivation of oil palm other than mineral soils can be carried out on peatlands by meeting the criteria that ensure the sustainability of the function of peatlands, namely:

  • The thickness of the peat is less than 3 (three) meters.
  • Cultivation is cultivated only on community land and cultivation areas.
  • Sapric (ripe) or hemic (half-ripe) peat maturity level.
  • Mineral soil substatum under peat is not quartz sand and not acid sulfate soil.
  • The level of peat soil maturity is in the eutropic category, which is the level of peat fertility where the macro and micro nutrient content is sufficient.
Criteria for peatlands that can be used for oil palm cultivation with a thickness of less than 3 meters are: In the form of a stretch that has a thickness of peat less than 3 meters; The proportion of land with a thickness of peat less than 3 meters is at least 70% (seventy percent) of the area cultivated.

The mineral soil layer beneath the peat should not consist of quartz sand and acid sulphate soil. The quartz sand layer under peat is a mineral layer that is not mixed with clay and consists of pure sand so it is not suitable for cultivation.

Acid sulphate soil layer is tidal land where the soil has a pyrite or sulfidic layer with a level greater than 2% (two percent) at a depth of less than 50 (fifty) centimeters below the peat soil surface. Pyrite is a mineral material derived from marine deposits (marine) which is rich in iron and sulfide in anaerobic state, and is rich in organic matter.


Table 4. Soil Characteristics of Acid Sulfate

Main Characteristics

Characteristics

Location

Less than 5 (five) meters above sea level, generally in marine sediments, often found in tidal areas

Soil

- Original soil color is gray but quickly

- There are yellow spots on the ground.

- There is a smell of sulfur when the ground is raised to the surface

Vegetation

There are natural vegetation such as purun and mangrove, while other plants do not grow well

Water

- There is a rust color on the water in the drain

- The river water is turquoise

Peat Maturity Level

The maturity level of peat consists of ripe (sapric), half ripe (hemic) and raw (fibric) levels.
  1. Ripe peat (sapric), namely peat which has further decayed, the material of origin is unknown, dark brown to black in color, and when squeezed the fiber content is less than 15% (fifteen percent);
  2. Half-ripe (hemic) peat, namely semi-rotten peat, part of the original material is still recognizable, brown in color, and when squeezed the fiber material is 15% (fifteen percent) to 75% (seventy five percent);
  3. Raw peat (fibric), namely peat that has not been decomposed, the original material is still recognizable, brown in color, and if it is squeezed more than 75% (seventy five percent) of the fiber is still left; Raw peat is prohibited for the development of oil palm cultivation.
Peat Fertility Rate for Palm Oil In the eutropic category, namely the level of peat fertility with sufficient macro and micro nutrient content for oil palm cultivation as the effect of river water overflow and / or tides. The general suitability criteria for peatlands for oil palm are presented in Table 5 below.

Peat Fertility Rate for Palm Oil

In the eutropic category, namely the level of peat fertility with sufficient macro and micro nutrient content for oil palm cultivation as the effect of river water overflow and / or tides. The general suitability criteria for peatlands for oil palm are presented in Table 5 below.

Table 5. General Suitability Criteria for Peatlands for Oil Palm

No

Land characteristics

Symbol

Limiting Factor intensity

Weight

Without

 

Light

 

Moderate

0

1

2

3

1

Rainfall (mm)

H

> 125

1,750-1,500> 3,000

1,500-1,250

<1,250

2

Dry Month (mth)

k

<1

1 - 2

2-3

  > 3

3

Annual mean temperature (⁰C)

t

25 - 28

28 - 32

32- 35

35, <20

4

Crude material content (% Volume)

B

<5

22- <25

20- <25

> 35 - 60

5

Peat depth (cm)

S

0 - 100

5-15

> 15 - 35

> 300

6

Peat weathering rate

R

Saprik

100 - 200

200 - 300

Fibric

7

Deep groundwater level

D

60 - 100

Hemosapric; Saprohemic

Hemik; Fibrohemic; hemofibric

100, 0 - <30, Inundation

8

Ash content (%)

n

> 20

-

30 - <60

-

9

Salinity (mmhos / cm)

C

1,750- 3,000

10-20

<10

<1,250

10

pH (H2O) Soil

a

5.1 - 6.0

1,750-1,500> 3,000

1,500- 1.25

<3.5

By on