Soil Requirements for Oil Palm Plantations

Soil Fertility

• Initial soil nutrients tested before planting an oil palm plantation have little bearing on the lifespan of the plants, since they will quickly be used up. That is; nutrient requirements of oil palms are higher than what can be sustained by any soil for economical yields. Macro-nutrient requirements for nitrogen and potassium are especially high. Having a soil high in nitrogen and potassium helps new plants grow and reduces initial fertilizer costs. A high cation exchange capacity (CEC) is an important requirement for soil where oil palms grow.

Soil Structure

• Oil palms require a well-drained soil that also retains water well. Soil structure is the ability of the soil particles to cling together to form tiny aggregates. A soil that forms a variety of plentiful aggregates is good for growing oil palms. These packages of soil hold nutrients and water in the ground in a way that soils with poor structure cannot. Thus, a soil with good structure needs less water and fertilizer. Another aspect of soil structure is the presence of hard layers at different levels in the soil. For an oil palm to grow well, it requires that no hard pans are in the soil. That is; it is best if the soil is deep and unrestricted for the extensive root system of the plant. However, surface compaction in even clay textured soils seems to actually increase yields.

Topography

• Sustainable plantation of palm oil plants must grow on a naturally level area. Hills cause greater erosion and difficulty in transportation. A slope greater than 15 degrees is prone to damaging erosion.

Moisture

• The soil must have a large water holding capacity throughout, and not just at the surface, because the roots cannot extract water from great depths. To meet the water-holding requirement for growing oil palms, the more organic matter in the soil the better. Clay content can also aid in retaining water in the soil for oil palm roots to extract.