Biochar Based Slow Release Fertilizer And Soil Quality Improvement In Indonesian Palm Oil Plantation

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Expansion (extensification) of palm oil plantation in Indonesia increasingly encouraged to pursue non-oil commodities. The allocation or designation of land for oil palm plantations should be done with careful consideration and comprehensive, so it does not upset the balance of the environment. This factor which highlighted a lot of environmentalists, and the user market oil products from Indonesia. Another factor that I think needs to be considered is the productivity of the oil palm plantation itself. With good farming techniques or start intensification then I am sure Indonesia will increase the productivity of palm oil.

Compared to Malaysia with palm plantation productivity 3.5 tons of CPO per ha, while Indonesia only 2.5 tons of CPO ha per year. Due to differences in the productivity of Malaysia's vast palm plantation only 61.5% of the area of ​​Indonesia but is capable of producing up to 17 million tons of CPO or 85.3% of Indonesia's CPO production. In this case, Indonesia needs to learn from Malaysia. Currently, the land has been planted with oil palm in Indonesia has 7.8 million ha, about 16.5% of the farms and plantations or 8.3% of the total forest area. There are still 7 million ha of arable land palm, a great opportunity to increase the production of CPO and its derivatives. Trade policy of developed countries that want to kill off Indonesia palm oil industry as edible oil industry afraid to compete with palm oil needs attention is important for the government for the betterment of the palm oil industry in Indonesia. All of the government, NGOs and industry have one vote for this.

Increased productivity is one of them with a good fertilization and using quality fertilizer. If you see activity on the production of CPO will be a lot of waste biomass produced can be used to meet energy needs and CPO mill byproduct of biochar. As a porous material that has the ability as adsorbent, biochar able to hold nutrients and water for longer, so that it can act as a slow release fertilizer. When all the oil mill biomass waste can be converted into energy and fertilizer byproducts biocharnya to the oil mill has reduced global warming (carbon neutral fuel with biomass and carbon negative with biochar application) and absolutely zero waste. This obviously also be a solution to the negative campaigning of oil palm plantations in Indonesia. Reliable continuous pyrolysis technology appropriate to the scale of the pool is a necessity. JF BioCarbon will able to answer it.

Judging from the condition of the global climate, carbon balance balance between the expansion of palm oil plantations, the carbon released when the process of biochar production by pyrolysis and carbon sequestration from the atmosphere by biochar. Optimization of the three will give the best results for the environment, human welfare and ecosystem.