InfoSAWIT, SUNGAILIAT – Palm oil castration has become the significant process to escalate plantation productivity and fresh fruit bunch (FFB) quality. It would be about to vanish the candidate of male and female flowers in immature plants. The goal is about to reinforce the tree, uniformize every plant’s growth and escalate the chance to get same big and weigh of FFB.

In general, palm oil castration uses chemical materials, such as, dodos. But many traditional smallholders use bamboo because it is more economic namely when flowering process when palm oil plants are about two years old.

“We use bamboo to be more efficient. It would be expensive to purchase dodos. In the flowering process, we apply bamboo –about 2 inches in thickness and 2 meters long,” Komarudin, a smallholder from Village of Cungfo said, as InfoAWIT quoted from KBRN RRI, Monday (13/5/2024).

Komarudin thought, castration would be the significant process to get the good FFB quality, and palm oil trees would be bigger.

It would not be only about to vanish flowers but also a long term - investment to escalate the harvest and plantation sustainability. By maintaining the power, health of the plants, and adjusting their growth, the smallholders would optimize the production and get qualified harvest.

It means castration would be one significant strategy in sustainable plantation cultivation management to help and increase the plantation productivity and smallholders’ welfare, and also encourage the plantation growth in Indonesia. (T2)