The Effect of Releasing The Pollinating Weevil Elaeidobius kamerunicus Faust on Increasing Oil Palm Production Per Block At Torgamba Estate Ary

Abstract

Increasing oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) productivity is influenced by the success of pollination. The pollinating weevil Elaeidobius kamerunicus Faust plays an important role in oil palm flower pollination, thereby supporting fruit formation and increasing fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production. This study aimed to determine the effect of releasing E. kamerunicus on oil palm production per block at Torgamba Estate. A comparative method was used involving 20 oil palm blocks 10 control blocks without weevil release and 10 treatment blocks with weevil release all planted in 2010 (16 years old). FFB production was converted to production per hectare (kg ha⁻¹) and analyzed using an independent-samples t-test at the 5% significance level. Mean FFB production was 12,704.80 kg ha⁻¹ in the control blocks and 16,377.50 kg ha⁻¹ in the treatment blocks an increase of 3,672.70 kg ha⁻¹, or 28.91%. The t-test yielded t = 8.439 with p < 0.001, indicating a highly significant difference between groups. These results demonstrate that releasing E. kamerunicus is associated with higher oil palm production and has potential as a pollination-management strategy to support productivity at Torgamba Estate.