PRECISION AGRICULTURE: OIL PALM
Development of precision agriculture for oil palm is started with building GIS database.
a- Base map. Plantation boundary, block boundary, road network, river or stream (if present).
b- Topography map, slope map,
c - Soil series maps
d- Oil palm stand map
e- Yield maps
f- Terrace map
g- Oil palm age map
h- Oil palm clone map
i - Nutrient maps - N, P, K, Ca, Mg, etc
j- NDVI map
k-Fertilizer application map
l- Foliar maps (nutrient maps)
m- Rainfall maps
n- Harvesting map
o- Hyperspectral remote sensing imagery from uav or from satelite
p- DSS -Dicission support system.
SOIL MAP OF AN OIL PALM PLANTATION
Aerial View of Bagworm outbreak in oil palm plantation
(UAV Data).
"with precision we provide solution"
Palm Infested by Bagworm
OIl palm infested by bagworm
Bagworms (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) are leaf eating caterpillars characterized by the possession of bag, which they build out of tough silk embedded with pieces of dried plant materials such as leaves and small twigs.
Bagworm infestation was not correlated with amount and distribution of rainfall as being claimed by many planters. Pteroma pendula(Lepidoptera: Psychidae) was the most dominant bagworm species among all of the bagworms recorded.
It is important for a plantation to have infestation data from its regular monitoring program for decision making for estimation of potential crop loss and to determine the need for control, especially when the natural enemies have failed to regulate the pest population below its economic threshold (Wood, 2002).
Thus, a regular census should be conducted from time to time for effective bagworm control thereby minimizing yield loss. UAV data capturing over the plantation is one of the best method to monitor the bagworm outbreak.