Oil palm consultation for smallholders in South Kalimantan
A smallholding rarely has anybody to ask. What there is tends to be an extension officer with far too much ground to cover, a fertiliser seller whose answer is always fertiliser, and a WhatsApp group with a bit of everything in it. This page offers one place to ask, and an answer somebody will stand behind.
What we do
Looking at the problem in your plantation from photographs and what you tell us, giving you the likely causes, and saying plainly which of them cannot be settled without seeing it. If it does need seeing, we come out. Alongside that we also source certified seedlings and record daily TBS prices, mill by mill, the two things a consultation most often leads on to.
What we do not do
We do not sell fertiliser, we do not sell pesticide, and we do not buy your TBS. We take no commission from any mill or collector either. That is not a pleasantry. A fertiliser seller who doubles as an adviser always has a reason to recommend fertiliser, and you are the one who pays for it when the reason turns out to be wrong.
What you can ask about
Tap one and the message is already written for you. If your problem is not among the five, just send the photo.
Yellowing fronds
Usually one of three: a nutrient shortage, waterlogged roots, or something wrong at the base of the trunk. All three look alike in a photograph, and what separates them is how they are spread through the plantation, not the colour of the leaf. How to tell the three apart is written up at length, and the one most often missed is drainage.
Bunches rotting, or not ripening
It could be incomplete pollination, it could be a boron shortage, it could be bunch rot spreading from bunches left unharvested. What we ask first is the age of the palms, the harvest interval, and whether old bunches have been left on the tree.
Palms going over, or a hollow trunk
A palm that goes over with its crown still green almost always means the base of the trunk has been rotting for a long time, and that points to ganoderma. What can still be saved is not that palm, it is the row next to it. The early signs, and how to check for them.
Falling yield
Before blaming the palms, we check two things that turn out to be the cause more often: how the harvesting is done, and the deductions at the weighbridge. Fruit cut before it is ripe and loose fruit left in the circle is tonnage lost before it ever reaches the mill. Which deductions are reasonable and fertiliser rates by age are the two pieces we send most often.
Pests
The most common in South Kalimantan: rats on young plants, rhinoceros beetle on recently replanted blocks, and nettle caterpillar or bagworm on mature palms. All three need handling differently, so what we ask for first is a photo of the damage, not a photo of the pest.
How a consultation works
On WhatsApp. The age of the palms, the size of the plot and the subdistrict (kecamatan) you are in is enough to start.
We ask back until the picture is clear enough, then give you the likely causes along with what still cannot be concluded.
If the photos are enough to answer, that is where it ends. If it needs seeing in person, we offer a field visit and tell you what it costs.
No form to fill in and no app to install. All of it over WhatsApp, on the same number from start to finish, so the history of your question is not lost and you never have to tell it twice.
Oil palm consultation rates
What it costs depends on the problem, the distance and the size of the plantation. Please get in touch on WhatsApp, and we give you the figure before any work starts.
Quick question
One problem, over WhatsApp. Send the photos and the details, we look at it and tell you the likely causes. If it turns out to need a run of checks, we say so before we start.
Contact usVideo consultation
A scheduled video call while you walk the plantation. For what photos cannot settle: how the affected palms are spread, the state of the drains, and a trunk base that needs seeing from several sides.
Contact usField visit
We come out, walk the block, and look for ourselves. The cost depends on the distance and the size of the plantation, and we give you the total before the date is agreed.
Contact usSeedling sourcing and other requests are quoted case by case too, because both depend on the size of the land and on the producer.
Where we work
A quick question or a video consultation can come from anywhere in South Kalimantan. Field visits are the kabupaten and kota below.
- Tanah Laut (Pelaihari)
- Tanah Bumbu (Batulicin)
- Kotabaru
- Banjar (Martapura)
- Tapin (Rantau)
- Barito Kuala (Marabahan)
- Hulu Sungai Selatan (Kandangan)
- Banjarbaru
- Banjarmasin
Outside that list we say so plainly. Visits are usually scheduled kabupaten by kabupaten, so if two or three nearby plantations want looking at on one trip, say so up front: split three ways it costs each of you less.
Questions we have already answered
"Lower fronds yellowing, four years old. Short of fertiliser, or is it a disease?"
More often than not it is drainage. We asked for photos of the fronds and the fertiliser history before concluding anything.
"A collector offered Rp 1,900 per kg. Is that reasonable?"
Too low for that day. We sent the gate price at the nearest PKS so it could be used to bargain with.
"Opening up 8 ha. How much capital until the first harvest?"
Not something one figure over chat can answer. We put together a breakdown stage by stage up to year four.
Common questions
What do I need to send for an oil palm consultation?
Photos of the affected part, the age of the palms, the size of the plot, and the subdistrict (kecamatan) you are in. If you have it, a year of fertiliser history helps a great deal.
What does an oil palm consultation cost?
It depends on the problem and the kind of consultation: a quick question on WhatsApp, a video consultation, or a field visit. A field visit also depends on the distance and the size of the land. Please get in touch on WhatsApp, and we tell you the rate before any work starts. Seedling sourcing and other requests are quoted case by case.
Can a consultant come out to the plantation?
Yes, and for some problems it is the only way. How the yellowing palms are spread, the state of the drains, and the trunk base often cannot be settled from photos. Visits are scheduled kabupaten by kabupaten, so if several nearby plantations want looking at on the same trip, it costs each of them less.
Which parts of South Kalimantan do you serve?
We make field visits in Tanah Laut (Pelaihari), Tanah Bumbu (Batulicin), Kotabaru, Banjar (Martapura), Tapin (Rantau), Barito Kuala (Marabahan), Hulu Sungai Selatan (Kandangan), Banjarbaru, Banjarmasin. A WhatsApp question or a video consultation can come from anywhere inside South Kalimantan. Outside it we say so plainly.
What if the problem does not show up in a photo?
We say we cannot, and we suggest the next step. We do not guess.
Can I ask about oil palm beyond plantation disease and seedlings?
Please do, as long as it is about oil palm. If we can help, we help, and we tell you the rate up front where there is one. If it is beyond us, we say so plainly and point you at who to ask instead.
The rest, about TBS prices, seedlings and payment, is on the common questions page.
Tell us what is happening in your plantation.
A photo, the age of the palms, the size of the plot, and the subdistrict (kecamatan) is enough to start.