Fertilizer placement in circle weeding vs. in interrow: which one is better for oil palm?

Abstract

Oil palm fertilizers are located in circle weeding because it is usually "cleaner" than interrow. However, many planters assumed that this method is inadequate. This is because the density of feeding roots, which play an essential role in nutrient absorption, continues to decrease due to intensive fertilizer input and weed control. Therefore, this research aims to determine the performance of oil palm under two different applications of fertilizer placement, namely in the circle weeding and in the interrow. It was carried out using a 9-year-old palm with a demo plot of 7.5 ha for five years. The treatments applied were 100% fertilization on circle weeding (A1) and interrow (A2), 50% on the circle weeding, and the rest on the interrow (A3), and 25% on the circle weeding and 75% on the interrow (A4). The parameters observed included soil and leaf nutrient content, root distribution, vegetative growth, and yield. The results showed that fertilizer placement in the circle weeding produced the best oil palm yield.