Introduction

  • Fertilizer is significant variables for plantation
    • Significant ability to increase productivity
    • Cultivation costs allocation approximately 30-65
  • The use of fertilizer in palm oil plantation has been applied for quite some time
    • NPK only application >> Balanced fertilization (NPK+TE)
    • Single fertilizer application >> Compound fertilizer
  • Compound fertilizer, trend setter in palm oil fertilization
    • Complete nutrients (macro,micro), balanced fertilization
    • Recommended soil and foliar based fertilizer, special requires composition
    • Innovative development and application fertilizer technology
    • Practical, simultaneous nutritional supply, minimize application costs.
  • Saraswanti Holdings, consistently develops research based compound fertilizer, fertilizer modification, laboratory testing and field trials fertilizer, and product commercialization.

Equalizing Perception About Fertilizer.

  • Literal meaning served as nutrients or basic requires
  • Definition of fertilizer
    • Fertilizer material such as solid, liquid, and gas
    • Contain nutrients supply for plantation
    • Soil based or plantation parts application
    • Does not contain any poisonous material
  • Commonly known as; single fertilizer, compound fertilizer, natural fertilizer, artificial fertilizer, organic fertilizer, inorganic fertilizer, etc.
  • Brief understanding about fertilizer types may help practitioners to learn fertilizer characteristics, therefore minimize the risk of faulty selection. For example: General targets of inorganic fertilizer are used to enrich soil nutrients in a short period of time. These fertilizer usage characteristics are relatively small doses (ku/ha) per period of plantation season.

Compound Fertilizer

  • Contain more than 1 nutrients element
  • Good compound fertilizer standard
    • Complete nutrients element
    • SNI / standard base quality
    • Physical homogeneity (color, particle, density)
  • Composition > soil based nutrient required

Compound Fertilizer Nomenclature Identification

  • More than 1 nutrient element
  • Grade or spect: The element structure including sequence, minimal nutrients supply guaranteed, e.g. : 12-12-17-2-TE; 13-6-27-4-0.65B
  • Fertilizer brand: well-known name brand for quite some time, minded and commercial scale product, e.g: Pupindo, Palmo, Mahkota, Hickey, etc

Form And Composition Of Compound Fertilizer

  • Compound fertilizer had quite diverse forms, ranging from small to large sizes. Generally, compound fertilizer had 3 different shapes, granular, briquette, and tablet.
  • Compound fertilizer consists of various element compositions, such as nutrient, carrier substance, mixers, mantle materials, filler and binder.

Compound Fertilizer Manufacture

  • manufacture stage: identification of grade and volume, mathematical mixture calculation, selection and preparation of raw materials, homogenize solid materials, and packaging.
  • Classification of compound fertilizer manufacture
    • Mixed fertilizer (physical process)
    • Compound fertilizer; consist of semi compound (physics+chemical binder, SRA) and full compound (chemical reactant)

Advantages And Disadvantages Characteristics Of Compound Fertilizer

Fertilizer Mixing

  • Chemical mixing will not produce gas, while loss of nutrients and caking caused by chemical reaction
  • Physically, grain sizes, colors, and densities are similar to minimize segregation as small as possible.

Modification Of Compound Fertilizer Composition Formulated By Fertilizer Division Of Saraswanti Group

  • Composition formulation technology is aligned objectively to the nutrient variety, nutrient content, and addition of additive elements which help to enhance the soil fertility and boost the nutrient supply.
  • Composition formulated by calculated measurement and complex research which result in product credibility proven by complex analysis of soils and leaves.
  • Effective technology of composition formulated to improve marginal land problems such as peat and sandy soil marginal lands.

Fertilizer forms formulation

  • Physical forms of the fertilizer are formulated larger particles >> result in slow release of fertilizer dissolution compared to fertilizer with smaller particle diameter.
  • Sizes and massiveness of fertilizer function as slow release agent
  • Sizing fertilizer controls the nutrient supply effectively by minimizing nutrient loss which is caused by washing (sandy soil), run off (undulating soil), vertical tidal water dynamic (peat soil), and puddle land over a certain period of time (tidal land).

Fertilizer solubility speed formulation

  • Solubility speed is crucial to determine fertilizer ability to provide nutrients for the plantation. Generally divided into two categories: slow release and fast release.
  • Ideal measures of solubility will help to prevent nutrient loss due to excessive water flow, therefore nutrient preservation relatively longer on soil and absorbed by plantation gradually.

Compound fertilizer efficiency testing result on palm oil plantation

  • Mineral soil testing. Average number of compound fertilizer usage productivity increases ranging >3,2-16,9 compared to single fertilizer.

  • Peat soil testing. Average number of compound fertilizer usage productivity increases approximately 34,8 compared to single fertilizer.

  • Peat Soil testing. Immature palms (Klangsam, Kecamatan Sintang Kabupaten Sintang Kalimantan Barat plantation). The observation result of immature palms showed that the use of compound fertilizer generally improves the growth indicated by the leaf width, number of leaflets, average length of leaflets, average width of leaflets, number and length of midrib.

  • Sandy soil testing. Generally, the average productivity growth recorded by testing is estimated around 46,1 with single fertilizer compared to compound NPK Palmo fertilizer.

Closing

  • Good fertilizer management and effective selection of fertilizer are crucial to help enhance palm oil productivity optimization
  • Compound fertilizer modification consists of nutrient composition, fertilizer form and solubility that will help to enhance the fertilization process.
  • Compound fertilizers are practical, consist of complete nutrients and relatively affordable than conventional fertilization, this type of fertilization is suitable to compromise to balanced macro and micro nutrient supply.
  • Saraswanti holding are consistent in formulation and production of inorganic compound fertilizer for palm oil plantation in a form of granular fast release branded as ‘Pupindo’ and briquette slow release branded as ‘Palmo’
  • fertilizer requirement based selection aligned with the nutrient supply such as fast release characteristics, capable of supplying nutrients for 1-2 months and slow release supply nutrients estimated for 3-6 months.
  • Testing results of compound fertilizer application on palm oil plantation recorded higher effectivity and efficiency compared to conventional fertilizer, which can help to increase fresh fruit bunch estimated 3,2-16,8. Palmo slow release fertilizer usage on peat and sandy soil can help to increase fertilization efficiency around 34,8 – 46,1.

Oleh: Dias Gustomo, Mohamad Mulyadi, Edi Premono (Divisi Pupuk Saraswanti Group)