Best management practices and its effect on soil properties in smallholder oil palm plantations, Jambi Province, Indonesia

The Best Management Practices (BMP) could improve oil palm production in smallholder plantations. This study aims to identify the effect of BMP and farmers’ practice (REF) on bulk density (BD), total N, available P, and organic C. The research was conducted in the smallholder oil palm plantations in Jambi Province, Indonesia. BMP applied pruned fronds stacks in inter-rows and within rows with fertilizer application above it except nitrogen fertilizer applied in the weeded circle. Besides, REF practice applied prune fronds stacks in inter-rows with all type of fertilizer application in the weeded circle. The result based on transect analysis showed that organic C, total N, and available P significantly higher near oil palm trees. In contrast, BD did not show a significantly different. Comparing BMP and REF practice revealed that BD, organic C, and total N did not differ significantly in all point observations. However, available P showed significantly different in point 2, 4, and 6. As this study was conducted in the second year of BMP treatment, the soil properties of BD, organic C, and total N were not influenced by BMP treatment. BMP study give land management information to improve soil properties that support oil palm production.