InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Palm oil commodity plays important roles in vegetable oil trade globally. Unfortunately, the factors such as, soil condition, climate, pests, diseases, and environment would have something to do with palm oil production. One effective thing to maintain palm oil production stability is by maintaining soil moisture through vegetative method.

It is a legume cover crop (LCC) as water and soil conservation. LCC plays its roles to press weeds to develop, protect soil from direct sunshine, hold on water from rainfall, minimize the flow of water in the soil surface, maintain soil moisture, and escalate soil fertility as the green fertilizer.

There are kinds of LCC that can be planted, such as, Mucuna bracteata (MB), Centrocema pubescens (CP), Calopogonium muconoides (CM), Pueraria javanica (PJ), and Calopogonium caeruleum (CC). Mucuna bracteata is the most popular one in palm oil plantations

It is kind of bean, has dark green color within enough wide leaves. Every stick could produce some leaves that would cover up the soil fast, deliver soil moisture, and protect land surface from erosion. The roots of Mucuna bracteate are categorized as tap roots, establish symbiosis mutualism with Rhizobium bacteria, escalate the soil quality.

As InfoSAWIT quoted from Sulung Research, PT. Sawit Sumbermas Sarana Tbk in Central Kalimantan Province, planted Mucuna bracteate. It is effectively maintaining soil moisture, supporting palm oil production stable. By planting LCC, palm oil plantation would maintain the land quality optimally, create conducive environment to get the plants grow, and eventually support palm oil plantation productivity sustainably.

It means, planting LCC, such as, Mucuna bracteata would deliver not only advantages for the environment positively but also prove the success in supporting palm oil industries in a whole. These would escalate not only the productivity and sustainability but also the good sample to implement environmental agricultural practices. (T2)