Study of Some Physical Properties of Soil in Immature Oil Palm Plant at Different Slopes

Abstract

The physical properties of the soil will influence plant growth and development. This research aims to examine the physical properties of soil in various slope classes of oil palm plantations inPTPN III KebunAekNabara Utara, BilahHulu District, Labuhanbatu Regency. This research uses survey and descriptive methods by analyzing the parameters of the physical properties of the soil, namely:Bulk Density (g/cm3) Total Pore Space (%) Soil Structure, Soil Water Content (%), Soil Texture (%). The tools used are a Global Positioning System (GPS), sample ring, hoe, soil drill, penetrometer, oven, permeameter, dry sieve, wet sieve, and pressure plate apparatus. The materials used are soil samples and work maps. The research results show that several soil physical properties showBulk Density value 1.30 – 1.51 g/cm3, Total Pore Space 0.17-0.58%, water content 0.20-0.27%, while the texture is dominantly clayey, and the structure is dominantly angular blocky. The physical properties of soil require a long time to change, because the physical properties of soil are difficult to change.