HUBUNGAN UMUR TANAMAN KELAPA SAWIT (Elaeis guineensis) DENGAN SIFAT FISIK TANAH DI KEBUN PENDIDIKAN CIKABAYAN IPB

Abstract

Kelapa sawit (Elaeis guineensis) memerlukan kondisi fisik lingkungan yang baik agar dapat tumbuh optimal. Umur tanaman kelapa sawit ditengarai berpengaruh terhadap karakteristik fisik tanah. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengidentifikasi pengaruh umur tanaman kelapa sawit terhadap karakteristik sifat fisik tanah di Kebun Pendidikan Cikabayan IPB. Rancangan penelitian yang digunakan adalah cross-sectional eksploratif. Pengamatan dilakukan pada lahan sawit muda (3-8 tahun; U1), lahan sawit sedang (9-15 tahun; U2), dan lahan sawit tua (15-20 tahun; U3). Lahan karet (K0) digunakan sebagai kontrol karena lahan sawit tersebut sebelumnya merupakan lahan karet. Pengambilan contoh tanah dilakukan secara acak pada piringan, gawangan mati, maupun gawangan hidup. Pengamatan pada masing-masing posisi dilakukan tiga ulangan. Sifat fisik tanah yang dianalisis adalah tekstur, kadar C-organik, bobot isi tanah, retensi air, dan distribusi pori tanah. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa umur tanaman berpengaruh terhadap bobot isi tanah, retensi air, dan ruang pori total tanah, tetapi tidak berpengaruh terhadap kadar C-organik. Retensi air tanah cenderung lebih tinggi pada lahan sawit umur lebih tua. Retensi air tanah pada piringan cenderung lebih tinggi, sedangkan pada gawangan mati dan gawangan hidup cenderung lebih rendah. Ruang pori tanah pada lahan kelapa sawit memiliki distribusi ruang pori lebih baik dibandingkan dengan di lahan karet.

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) requires favorable physical environmental conditions to grow optimally. The age of the oil palm is suspected to affect soil physical characteristics. This study aimed to identify the effect of oil palm age on soil physical properties at the Cikabayan Educational Plantation, IPB University. A cross-sectional exploratory research design was used. The observation sites were categorized into young palms (3–8 years; U1), middle-aged palms (9–15 years; U2), and mature palms (15–20 years; U3). Rubber plantations (K0) acted as the control group, since oil palm plots were established on former rubber land. Soil samples were randomly collected from the weeded circle, frond stack, and interrow, with three replications per area. The analyzed soil physical properties included texture, organic matter content, bulk density, water retention, and pore distribution. The results indicated that the age of oil palm affected bulk density, water retention, and total pore space in the soil, but did not affect soil organic matter content. Soil water retention tends to be higher in the mature palms. Soil water retention tends to be higher in the weeded circle, whereas it was lower in the frond stack and the interrow. Oil palm plantations had more favourable pore distribution than rubber plantations.