Jurnal Penelitian Kelapa Sawit

Growth Responses and Phosphate Nutrient Uptake of Oil Palm Nursery (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) on Peat Media Applied Ameliorants and Biofertilizers

Nanda Rizky Utami — 2026-05-04

This research aims to examine the effect of the application of ameliorants and biofertilizers on growth, phosphorus nutrients in the soil, and nutrient absorption in plants. This research was conducted in a greenhouse at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of North Sumatra, using peat soil, volcanic ash, zeolite, mycorrhiza, and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria. This study used a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with two factors. The first factor is biofertilizer: control, phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB), arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and a combination of PSB with AMF. The second factor is ameliorant: control, volcanic ash, zeolite, and a combination of volcanic ash with zeolite: with 3 replications. The results showed that there was an increase in the height of oil palm seedlings where the best treatment was the application of AMF (1.97% - 7.88%) and the best treatment for the application of volcanic ash (4.27% - 7.07%). In the observation of soil pH, the application of ameliorants had a significant effect (3.53% - 4.5%) on all materials, while the application of biofertilizers also had a significant effect on the increase in soil pH (1.41% - 3.84%) on all materials provided. In the observation of available phosphorus in the soil, the application of biofertilizers affected the increase in the value of available phosphorus in the soil, where the best value was from the application of PSB (10.31%), while the application of ameliorants also had a significant effect where the best treatment was the application of volcanic ash (30.63%). In the measurement of phosphorus nutrient absorption, the application of biofertilizers had a good effect (increased) (13.41%) compared to the control, but in the application of ameliorants, there was a decrease in phosphorus absorption results compared to the control with the lowest value in the application of zeolite (-1.56%). The results of this study indicate that ameliorants and biofertilizers can be recommended for marginal soils, especially peat soils, as supporting materials for the media in oil palm seedling cultivation.

Implementation of YOLOv5 for Estimating the Number of Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) Trees

Mukhes Sri Muna — 2026-05-04

Detection and estimation of oil palm tree populations are essential aspects of plantation management. Conventional methods that rely on manual recording have limitations in terms of efficiency, accuracy, and cost. Therefore, this study implements the YOLOv5 model as a deep learning-based approach to detect oil palm trees from aerial imagery. The dataset used in this study was obtained from aerial photographs of oil palm plantations owned by PT Kerry Sawit Indonesia (KSY) 1 and underwent preprocessing, labeling, and training using Google Colaboratory. The model was evaluated using test data from aerial photographs of the experimental plantation at the Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute. The evaluation results indicate that the YOLOv5 model achieved an accuracy of 96.85%, precision of 98.48%, recall of 98.32%, and an F1-score of 98.40%. Compared to previous methods, YOLOv5 demonstrates a strong balance between detection speed and high accuracy, making it a more effective solution for large-scale oil palm tree population estimation.

The Ideal Age Composition in Oil Palm Plantation

Iput Pradiko — 2026-05-04

Age composition of oil palm is a key aspect of sustainable plantation management. This study aims to identify the ideal age composition that ensures high and stable production over the long term. A 25-year planting cycle simulation was conducted across 13 age composition scenarios, and analyzed using a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework with the Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) method. The results indicate that the ideal age composition consists of 12% Immature Palm (TBM, 0-3 years), 20% Mature I (TMD, 4-8 years), 20% Mature II (TMR, 9-13 year), 28% Mature III (TDW, 14-20 year), 16% Old Palm (TTA, 21-25 years), and 4% Replanting (TU, >25 years). This composition achieves an optimal average palm age (RUT) of approximately 13.22 years, along with high production and low fluctuation. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of systematic and sustainable replanting planning to maintain a balanced age structure, especially in plantations with suboptimal age compositions. This strategy is key to ensuring long-term production stability and efficiency in oil palm plantation.

The Effect of Water on The Changes in Physical, Chemical, and Microstructural Properties of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Biochar

Benny Hidayat — 2026-05-04

Water is essential to life, and immersion treatment has been shown to significantly alter the properties of biochar, particularly by converting its hydrophobic nature into a hydrophilic one and others. This transformation leads to various changes in the material's physicochemical characteristics. In this study, biochar produced through pyrolysis of oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) using a kiln method was analyzed to assess its physical properties before and after immersion in distilled water. Surface morphology and elemental composition were evaluated using Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), while specific surface area was measured using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. Additional analyses, including pH, bulk density, water holding capacity, and moisture content, were conducted at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and the Soil Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, University of North Sumatra. The results demonstrated that water immersion induced notable changes in biochar characteristics. The pH of the biochar slightly decreased from 10.09 in dry EFB biochar to 9.54 in the soaked sample. While the soaked biochar exhibited higher concentrations of most nutrient elements, the carbon (C) content remained higher in the dry biochar at 65.06%. BET analysis revealed that the surface area of dry biochar (79.446 m²/g) was substantially greater than that of the soaked biochar (38.783 m²/g). Conversely, the soaked biochar showed superior performance in terms of bulk density (0.34 g/cm³), water holding capacity (10.51%).

The Impact of Company Size, Beta, and ESG Ratings on the Efficiency of Palm Oil Companies Listed on the IDX during Crisis Periods

Erika Pritasari Wybawa — 2026-05-04

The palm oil industry proves to be a resilient sub-sector of agriculture, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis, contributing significantly to Indonesia's national GDP and supporting financial recovery in the post-pandemic period. This research examines the influence of company size, Beta (stock volatility), and ESG ratings on the efficiency scores of palm oil companies. A total of 20 entities listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) are analyzed over a 5-year period (2019–2023), including 9 ESG-rated companies. A DEA double bootstrap with left-truncated linear regression at 1 is employed to estimate the model. The results show that company size does not significantly affect efficiency, while Beta negatively impacts efficiency, indicating that higher volatility reduces performance. ESG-rated companies consistently outperform non-rated counterparts, demonstrating the positive effects of sustainable practices. This study provides a novel contribution, as no previous research explores these variables in Indonesia's palm oil industry. The findings offer valuable insights for industry practitioners and policymakers, emphasizing the importance of ESG integration for improved efficiency and sustainable growth, and supporting the formulation of policies to enhance the sector's resilience in future crises.