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Kebun Kaki Bukit, Mukah (2026)

15/06/2026

Another interesting field observation from peat soils.

This palm is still standing with a functional canopy, yet hidden beneath the mound we discovered active Ganoderma fruiting bodies growing from buried woody material underneath the peat mound.

What does this suggest?

The fungus appears to be colonising decomposing wood beneath the mound first, within a humid and protected environment created by buried woody debris, peat subsidence and prolonged decomposition.

Interestingly, heavy mounding may suppress or delay visible Ganoderma fruiting body formation, while later exposure to oxygen through subsidence, erosion or unmounding may trigger external conk emergence.

This reminds us that:
absence of visible Ganoderma conks does not necessarily mean absence of fungal activity underground.

Over time:

buried wood decomposes
cavities form beneath the mound
peat structure weakens
roots lose anchorage and oxygen balance
Ganoderma continues functioning as both decomposer and opportunistic pathogen

This raises an important question:

Are we sometimes focusing too much on the visible Ganoderma conk while overlooking the underlying root environment and peat instability?

In many peat plantations, the bigger issue may involve:

buried stumps and woody debris
excessive or unstable mounding
stressed and exposed roots
poor soil biological diversity
peat oxidation and subsidence
fluctuating moisture and aeration

Yet despite the presence of Ganoderma beneath the mound, this palm is still surviving and maintaining canopy function.

Perhaps the future of management is not merely about “killing Ganoderma,” but rebuilding a healthier and biologically active root zone capable of tolerating and suppressing disease pressure naturally.

Field observations continue to remind us:
healthy roots and resilient soil ecology may ultimately matter more than simply chasing visible symptoms.

13/06/2026

Same fertilizer. Same estate. Two different outcomes.

Left: Fertilizer broadcast on bare peat
Right: Fertilizer applied onto EFB mulch

At first glance, both look “applied”.

But look closer.

On bare peat:
Fertilizer sits exposed —
subject to leaching, fixation, and loss.

On EFB mulch:
Fertilizer is held within the fiber —
protected, retained, slowly released.

This is not about organic vs chemical.

This is about efficiency.

Are we feeding the palm…
or feeding the soil losses?

Small changes in application method
can mean big differences in nutrient retention.

🌱 Sometimes the answer isn’t more fertilizer —
it’s better placement.

11/06/2026

“Both palms are on peat.
Both are technically ‘mounded’.
But are they really the same?”

The left palm sits on a steep peat pyramid.

The right palm sits on a broader, gentler root platform.

Big difference.

On steep peat mounds:

fertilizer granules roll downslope
nutrients accumulate near drains instead of feeder roots
bare peat oxidizes faster
mulch cannot stay in place
roots become exposed over time
upper mound dries quickly under heat

Yet surprisingly, many palms still look ‘healthy’ above ground for years.

Good canopy and bunches do NOT always mean good root architecture.

Oil palm roots naturally want to spread laterally into a stable, moist, biologically active feeding zone — not cling onto a sharp exposed peat cone.

Over time, excessively steep mounds may contribute to:

unstable anchorage
shallow rooting
nutrient inefficiency
leaning palms
sudden collapse despite decent yields

In peat management, perhaps the goal should not simply be:
‘raise the palm higher’

But instead:
‘create a wider, stable, living root platform.’

The soil surface itself is part of the root system.

29/05/2026

THE REAL QUESTION ISN'T JUST WHERE WE APPLY FERTILIZER

I recently came across an infographic discussing whether oil palm fertilizer should only be applied in the frond stack area.

To be fair, many of the points raised are valid.

✅ Better moisture retention
✅ Higher organic matter content
✅ More active feeder roots
✅ Improved nutrient retention and uptake

These are all well-known benefits of the frond stack zone.

However, I believe the discussion still misses a much bigger question.

Most fertilizer recommendations assume the root ecosystem is still healthy.

But what happens when the field condition already looks like this?

2 field pics above

In many mature peat plantations today, we are increasingly seeing:

Exposed peat surfaces
Declining organic debris layers
Surface roots exposed to the elements
High soil temperatures during dry periods
Reduced biological activity
Palms showing signs of stress despite ongoing fertilizer application

Under these conditions, the question is no longer:

"Where should fertilizer be applied?"

The bigger question becomes:

"Do we still have a healthy root environment capable of fully utilizing that fertilizer?"

Fertilizer placement matters.

But root ecology may matter even more.

A perfectly designed fertilizer programme cannot fully compensate for:

❌ Exposed roots
❌ Loss of organic matter
❌ Overheated soil surfaces
❌ Weak microbial activity
❌ Declining root health

If these underlying issues are not addressed, increasing fertilizer rates may simply be treating the symptoms rather than the cause.

Perhaps it is time to broaden the conversation.

Not just:

Fertilizer rates
Fertilizer placement
Fertilizer timing

But also:

🌱 Root health
🌱 Organic matter management
🌱 Soil biology
🌱 Surface protection and mulching
🌱 Building resilient root ecosystems

Because ultimately,

High yields are not produced by fertilizer alone.

They are produced by healthy roots growing in a healthy soil environment.

The location of fertilizer application is important.

The condition of the root ecosystem may be even more important.

26/05/2026

“When a Peat Palm Starts Behaving Like a Mineral Soil Palm…”

This palm has been used as a BBC (Black Bunch Count) sample palm for workers since 11/24.

What caught my attention wasn’t just the bunches…

…but the ground condition around the palm.

Look carefully.

This is peat land.
Yet the palm circle has been heavily topped with sand/mineral material over time.

The result?

The palm no longer behaves like a “typical stressed peat palm.”

Instead, it appears:

more stable
less exposed at the root zone
structurally firmer
still maintaining bunch continuity

This raises a very important plantation question:

Are we underestimating how much the upper root environment affects peat palm performance?

In many peat areas, we focus heavily on:

fertilizer programmes
micronutrients
yield numbers

…but sometimes ignore:

exposed roots
unstable rooting zones
poor surface structure
lack of buffering material around feeder roots

Oil palm feeder roots are concentrated near the upper soil layer.

So when the upper zone is improved using:

sand
compost
EFB
decanter cake
biochar
organic layering

…the palm may respond far more positively than expected.

Not because the entire peat suddenly became mineral soil…

…but because the critical feeding and anchorage zone improved.

Sometimes the biggest lesson in plantations is this:

The palm is not only responding to what we feed it…

…but also to the condition of the environment we expect the roots to live in.

18/05/2026

Many plantations assume that once w**ds are sprayed, the problem is “solved”.

But look carefully at these photos.

The middle section was sprayed with herbicide roughly 2 weeks earlier.

Yet new w**ds are already germinating again.

Why?

Because spraying may kill existing vegetation…
but it does not eliminate the enormous seed bank sitting inside exposed peat.

As long as the soil remains:

bare
hot
exposed to sunlight
biologically weak

…the next generation simply returns.

This creates the familiar plantation cycle:

Spray → temporary clean ground → w**ds return → spray again every few months.

The question is:

Are we controlling w**ds…
or maintaining a dependency cycle?

Now compare this with the mulched area.

Not perfectly w**d-free.
Some w**ds still appear occasionally.

But over time:

w**d pressure becomes weaker
germination reduces
soil stays cooler
moisture improves
manual removal becomes easier and takes only seconds

Most importantly:

This does NOT mean large plantations must suddenly stop herbicide usage completely.

That would be unrealistic operationally.

The more practical direction is:

reduce exposed peat
gradually increase mulch coverage
prioritise critical zones first
reduce repeated spraying frequency over time
combine selective spraying with system correction

Even at large scale, the objective is not “zero w**ds”.

The objective is to reduce the ecosystem conditions that favour aggressive w**d recolonisation in the first place.

Bare peat invites w**ds.

Covered living soil changes the battlefield itself.

Sometimes true cost reduction does not come from spraying more efficiently…

…but from needing to spray less over time.

15/05/2026

This fallen palm is an uncomfortable reminder that canopy appearance and even foliar analysis do not always tell the full story.

Before collapse:
✔ still carrying bunches
✔ canopy still reasonably green
✔ still looked “productive”

But look closer.

The roots were shallow.
The root plate was weak.
Large portions of the peat root mass had little structural integrity left.

Even more interesting:
there was relatively low organic debris around the palm circle.

Very little natural mulch.
Very little protective organic layer.
Exposed peat surface.
Exposed roots.

Yet in many plantations, assessments still focus heavily on:

foliar nutrient readings
fertilizer recommendations
canopy symptoms

while the actual root environment is slowly deteriorating underneath.

A foliar sample may say:
“nutrient levels acceptable.”

But does the analysis show:

root anchorage strength?
peat structural stability?
biological activity?
root exposure?
oxidation stress?
long-term subsidence?
declining root ecology?

No.

A palm can still absorb enough nutrients to maintain green fronds and produce bunches… while the foundation underneath is already failing.

By the time a peat palm falls, the real problem often started years earlier below ground.

This is why sustainable yield on peat is not just about feeding the palm.

It is about rebuilding:

root environment
organic matter
microbial life
peat stability
moisture buffering
long-term anchorage

Sometimes the most dangerous palms are not the yellow ones.

They are the “still productive” palms hiding silent root failure underneath.

13/05/2026

Most people look at this and see waste.

We see biology.

What was once discarded oil palm biomass is now becoming a living ecosystem:

fungi,
microbial networks,
nutrient cycling,
carbon transformation,
moisture retention…

and eventually — soil.

These mushrooms are not the main story.

They are merely the visible fruiting bodies of an invisible underground workforce already breaking down lignin, cellulose and complex organic matter.

In many plantations, biomass is still viewed as a disposal problem.

But in nature, there is no waste.

Only resources waiting to be transformed.

A dead system stays dead.

A living system starts feeding itself.

09/05/2026

We have been placing decanter cake at strategic locations around the TKI housing areas where many workers rear free-range chickens.

Initially, the intention was simple:
to recycle mill by-products back into the field instead of treating them purely as waste.

But something interesting started happening naturally.

The decanter cake became heavily colonised by Black Soldier Fly larvae (BSFL).

Soon after, the chickens began actively scavenging the areas daily.

And directly beside these biologically active zones?

Palms carrying heavy bunches.

Healthy fruit set.

Strong biological activity.

This is something worth reflecting on carefully.

Perhaps mill by-products were never truly “waste” to begin with.

Perhaps plantation ecosystems already know how to recycle nutrients efficiently…
if we stop interrupting the process.

Decanter cake is rich in:
• organic matter
• residual nutrients
• microbial food sources
• moisture-holding compounds
• carbon that helps rebuild biological activity

Once biology returns, the ecosystem starts reconnecting itself:

microbes → insects → chickens → nutrient cycling → soil improvement → palms

A living system begins forming again.

Regenerative agriculture is not about rejecting fertiliser or modern science.

It is about recognising that biology itself is also part of the nutrient delivery system.

Sometimes the field quietly teaches lessons that meetings and reports overlook.

Even the chickens know where the life is strongest.

05/05/2026

28 years of experience.

Sounds solid.
Sounds convincing.
Sounds… unquestionable.

But the field sometimes tells a different story.

📸 Photo 1,2,3
Palms beside drains — water present, “good water table”… yet struggling.
Thin crowns. Desiccated fronds. Low vigour.

📸 Photo 4
Palms in drier areas — no visible water… yet carrying bunches and fuller canopies.

So if water table is the answer…
why the contradiction?

Then we looked lower.

Not the canopy.
Not the fertilizer schedule.
Not the years of experience.

The ROOT ZONE.

📸 Photo 5
Fertilizer (NK) broadcast directly onto bare peat.
Straight onto exposed feeder roots.

No buffer.
No protection.
High risk of burn.
Low efficiency.

We expect uptake.
We expect response.

But what if the roots are already stressed?

📸 Photo 6
Mulch applied — EFB fiber + boiler ash (about 3–5 cm layer).

This is a step forward.

But still:

Coverage not complete
Thickness not sufficient for full buffering
Biology not fully established yet

Meaning… the system is improving, but not fully there.

We talk a lot about:
✔️ Water table
✔️ Fertilizer programs
✔️ Deficiencies

But rarely:
❗ Root health
❗ Soil biology
❗ Organic matter
❗ Consistency on the ground

A palm does not feed from theory.
A palm feeds from functioning roots.

You can have years of experience…
and still miss what’s right in front of you.

Because plantations don’t respond to experience.
They respond to conditions.

Sometimes the real question is not:

“What should we apply?”

But…

“What condition is the root zone in when we apply it?”

🌱 Rebuild the root zone
🌱 Restore biology
🌱 Increase mulch depth & coverage
🌱 Protect feeder roots
🌱 Improve efficiency, not just input

Experience matters.
But observation matters more.

Kebun Kaki Bukit

15/06/2026

13/06/2026

11/06/2026

29/05/2026

26/05/2026

18/05/2026

15/05/2026

13/05/2026

09/05/2026

05/05/2026

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