EFFECT OF EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH TRICHOCOMPOST ON NUTRIENT EFFICIENCY AND OIL PALM SEEDLING QUALITY (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30737/agrinika.v10i2.7916Keywords:
Trichocompost, EFB, Trichoderma, nutrients, oil palm.Abstract
The palm oil industry generates large volumes of empty fruit bunch (EFB) waste, which poses environmental risks if left unmanaged. Converting EFB into compost offers an environmentally friendly and sustainable solution, but natural decomposition is slow, requiring a bioactivator such as Trichoderma sp. to accelerate the process and improve trichocompost quality. This study aimed to (1) evaluate the effect of EFB trichocompost on nutrient efficiency and seedling growth quality during the oil palm pre-nursery stage, and (2) determine its optimal dose. A single-factor Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was applied, testing EFB trichocompost doses from 0% to 100% in 5% intervals (21 levels), with three replications, using polybags and statistical software for data analysis. Research stages included EFB characterization, trichocompost production, growing-medium preparation, seedling transplanting, maintenance, and measurement of growth indicators (seedling height, leaf number, and stem-base diameter). Data were analyzed using ANOVA followed by LSD test at the 5% significance level. Results showed that all treatments (M1–M21) had a highly significant effect on the three growth indicators. Treatment M13 consistently performed best, producing the highest average leaf number (7.14), tallest seedling height (39.20 cm), and largest stem-base diameter (11.10 mm), while treatments M19–M21 performed worst. These findings indicate that M13 is the most optimal EFB trichocompost dose for improving nutrient efficiency and overall oil palm seedling quality in the pre-nursery stage.
References
Abd Karim, N., Lamaming, J., Yusof, M., Hashim, R., Sulaiman, O., Hiziroglu, S., Wan Nadhari, W. N. A., Salleh, K. M., & Taiwo, O. F. (2020). Properties of native and blended oil palm starch with nano-silicon dioxide as binder for particleboard. Journal of Building Engineering, 29(January 2019), 101151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2019.101151
Avila-Diazgranados, R. A., Tezara, W., & Romero, H. M. (2025). Photosynthetic characterization of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) seedlings during late in vitro development and acclimatization. Plants, 14(9), 1299. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14091299
Basri, Meliani, Ismail, A. T., Iqbal, M., Irfan, M., Norman, A., Andreansyah, R., Cennawati, & Suharman, H. (2025). Jbima: Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat. Jbima: Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat, 2(3), 126–133.
Battong, U., Wahdah, R., & R., G. (2018). Respon Pertumbuhan Dan Produktivitas Kelapa Sawit (Elaeis Guineensis Jacquin) Terhadap Kedalaman Dan Bobot Bahan Organik Penutup Biopori Pada Tanah Podsolik Merah Kuning. Enviroscienteae, 14(2), 147–160. https://ppjp.ulm.ac.id/journal/index.php/es/article/view/5479/4626
Bayona-Rodríguez, C., & Romero, H. (2024). Drought Resilience in Oil Palm Cultivars: A Multidimensional Analysis of Diagnostic Variables. Plants, 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13121598
Husna, M., Salamah, U., Herman, W., & Agwil, W. (2023). The Improvement of Oil Palm Seedling through Shade, Manure and Organic Liquid Fertilizer in Ultisol Media. Planta Tropika, 11(1), 33–40. https://doi.org/10.18196/pt.v11i1.13415
Ishaq, R. M., Sekar, F., Putri, M., Kurniawan, S., Hidayat, T., & Albarki, G. K. (2025). SERAPAN HARA DAN PRODUKSI JAGUNG MANIS Efficiency of Kieserite Fertilizer Application to Increase Nutrient Uptake And Sweet Corn Production. Jurnal Tanah Dan Sumberdaya Lahan, 12(2), 233–246. https://doi.org/10.21776/ub.jtsl.2025.012.2.2
Kumara, N. R. A., & Sumiahadi, A. (2025). Evaluation of oil palm empty fruit bunch compost application on samhong mustard (Brassica juncea L.) cultivation in polybags. Applied Research in Science and Technology, 4(2).
Lau, G. W., King, P., Chubo, J., King, I. C., Ong, K., Ismail, Z., Robin, T., & Shamsi, I. (2024). The Potential Benefits of Palm Oil Waste-Derived Compost in Embracing the Circular Economy. MDPI Agronomy, 14(2517), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14112517
Makruf, A., & Syahputri, S. O. (2025). Kombinasi Trichokompos Dan Npk Mutiara 16:16:16 Terhadap Pembibitan Kelapa Sawit (Elaeis Guenensis Jacq) Varietas Topaz Di Pre Nursery. Ikraith-Teknologi, 10(2), 25–34.
Nugroho, M. H., Suryanti, S., & Umami, A. (2022). Pengaruh plant growth promoting rhizobacteria dan mikoriza vesikula arbuskula terhadap pertumbuhan kelapa sawit main nursery pada kondisi cekaman kekeringan. Vegetalika, 11(3), 186–197. https://doi.org/10.22146/veg.64783
Nurhadiah, Sukasih, N. S., Tri, F. X., & P., M. Y. (2022). Aplikasi Kompos Tandan Kosong Kelapa Sawit Terhadap Pertumbuhan Bibit Kakao (Theobroma Cacao, L) Sambung Pucuk. Piper, 18(April).
Oktafianti, D. C., Maryani, A. T., & Salim, H. (2024). Growth performance of oil palm seedlings (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) in response to palm oil waste compost and single inorganic fertilizer application in early nursery stages. Jurnal Prajaiswara, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.55351/prajaiswara.v5i3.145
Pangaribuan, I. F., Rahmawati, N., Akoeb, E. N., Yenni, Y., Sujadi, & Pangaribuan, Y. (2024). Reactions of drought-affected oil palm variety seedlings during the nursery phase: Bud and root responses. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1308(1), 12034. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1308/1/012034
Prayoga, S., Riniarti, M., Prasetia, H., Setiawan, K., Bakri, S., & Hidayat, W. (2025). Growth improvement of palm oil seedling using biochar from oil palm empty fruit bunch and rubber wood. Jurnal Teknik Pertanian Lampung, 14(6), 2179–2186. https://doi.org/10.23960/jtepl.v14i6.2179-2186
Rusmayadi, G., Erika Adriani, D., & Masria, M. (2022). Growth Response of Oil Palm Seedlings (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) in Pre Nursery Nurseries to Intersity of Solar Radiation in the Moonsun Region. International Journal of Engineering Business and Social Science, 1(02), 76–79. https://doi.org/10.58451/ijebss.v1i02.26
Setyawan, H., Elfatma, O., Aji, W. A., & Gunawan, S. (2025). Potential acceleration of early growth in oil palm seedlings through the optimization of biochar growing media and organic-inorganic fertilizer formulation. Journal of Agriculture (JoA), 4(3), 393–401. https://doi.org/10.47709/joa.v4i03.7299
Sirait, B. A., Manurung, A. I., & Sabrina, R. (2021). NPK Content Leaves Of Oil Palm Seedling Due To Vermicompost Treatment And NPK Fertilizer. 1st Conference Of Business, Agribusiness And Agriculture, 1, 74–80.
Sukmawan, Y., & Riniarti, D. (2022). Effectiveness of various foliar fertilizer on the growth and performance of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) seedlings in main nurseries. Journal of Tropical Crop Science, 9(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.29244/jtcs.9.01.1-7
Sumarlin, Sangkala, Zainuddin, Gaffar, U. H., Sutiharni, Husen, O. O., Robbani, S., Alam, R. A. C., Harwanto, F., Jayadisastra, Y., Pramulya, R., & A., K. (2024). Minyak Kelapa Dan Minyak Sawit: Dampak Kesehatan, Lingkungan, Ekonomi Dan Sosial Di Balik Produksi.
Syahputra, E., Asmanizar, A., Setia Budi, R., & Chaniago, N. (2024). Effect of water application and Zeba products on the growth of palm oil plants (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) on main nursery. JUATIKA: Jurnal Agronomi Tanaman Tropika, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.36378/juatika.v6i2.3748
Widiati, B. R., & Herwati, A. (2026). Pemanfaatan Trichoderma Sp. Sebagai Agens Hayati Untuk Pengendalian Penyakit Layu Fusarium Dan Pembuatan Trichokompos Di Desa Cenrana Baru. Abdimas Universal, 8(1), 105–113.
Zakri, N. A., & Adam, S. (2021). A review on the potential of empty fruit bunch (EFB) compost as growing medium for oil palm seedling production. Food Research. https://doi.org/10.26656/fr.2017.5(s4).003
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Sarinah Sarinah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Permitted third-party reuse is defined by the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND). This permission allows users to copy and distribute the Article, provided this is not done for commercial purposes and further does not permit distribution of the Article if it is changed or edited in any way, and provided the user gives appropriate credit (with a link to the formal publication through the relevant DOI), provides a link to the license, and that the licensor is not represented as endorsing the use made of the work.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
How to Cite
