After CNY, construction work will start on the land. Wish I know this hobby fertigation set earlier so I can try out but not enough time for it now. So I need to do as much homework as possible till the construction starts and start to do the planting. Really hope to visit an actual ongoing succesful commercial Chili fertigation system farming.

I've heard many failed stories of commercial chili farming, but I find those factors of risk could be reduce significantly or even eliminate it with some serious dedication.

I believe the bigger the problem you solve, the more money you can earn.

hi bro,

if you are interested to visit a commercial chili fertigation system i can point you to one at Kajang.

will post once i get the info

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Added on January 4, 2012, 6:40 pmsurf to this website :- http://my-fertigasi.com/

they have a fertigation course which is quite affordable and they have a commercial farm running

This post has been edited by ParaOpticaL: Jan 4 2012, 06:40 PM

That's great, I live at Kajang too

Say, they have a course on 22nd Jan. Do you know how much they charge?

then you can go there for the course.

the course is RM 200.00 per pax

The person who organize the course is the owner of his own farm?

yes he is. his name is Marzuki

hi, i am new to this forum and i am interested to understand more about agriculture thingy. To my amaze this forum actually have lots of information regarding agriculture and aquaculture, and failure experience contribution that willing to share with us. good job there!

Ok, i am a greenhorn in this field and hope all of the pros can nourish me like plants. just kidding. Please give me advice as i am thinking whether or not into venturing agriculture line.
Here is my story, i am not a farmer, and i`m currently working in other sector line which totally different from agri and i 'm base in pj. i'm currently thinking of purchasing an agriculture land using my lifetime saving. The reason i choose agriculture land instead of house is that, erm.... agri land cheaper than house in pj. =P and pj house i can't afford to buy too expensive and bank wont loan me that much.

At first i think of just simpan the land and wait for land harga naik for long term. But this is not good coz i need to service bank loan and no rental income. Sumore earn salary just to service the loan for long period of years.haiz.. btw currently i'm looking at at 1-2 acre agriland.

That's y i think its best to make use of the land to plant something rather than leaving there to rott. and i have full time job this makes more unfit to do farming.

All proffesional here please give me hint, guidance for what to do with the land? and i got some silly question to ask , hope all you all dont mind.

1. is there any fast growing plant that doesn't need to take care often?
like 1 month see 1 time ? through browsing the post , i have come accross some plants like chili, serai, herbs(plenty of herbs there but which wan suits me best?) and aka wood, or maybe some wormy business ^^ ?

2. if let say plant those crops that mention above, estimate what's the return ? erm.... i know it sounds silly thinking of harvesting already, but honest speaking i need to know what is the return so that i can plan what to plant for me to service the bank.

3. The maintenence of the plant. Well if got any plant which don't need constant care? But i willing to plant them first, and during harvesting i have some foreigner in my line which i can use as manpower but have to pay.

4. theft plantation? if i`m not there for 1 month will my corpse gone? any idea to prevent? i`m thinking if the aka wood thingy will be the best, but 6-10 years before can harvest *_*" i think i will being sued to bankrupt by bank.

Please please nourish me >.<"

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Added on January 4, 2012, 11:18 pm5. forgot to ask 1 more. the plants/chili / fruits / bananas/ herbs/ wood/ tongkat ali?? whom to sell? open stall and sell? sell to pasar borong? market ? but i think these middle people will squeeze the price till dry ?is there other alternative place to sell? export? end-user? factory ?

This post has been edited by loongloong3: Jan 4 2012, 11:18 PM

I am not someone qualify to say what is right or wrong because I do not have experience in agriculture either. Still doing my research and homework. But these are the mindset I'm going to instil myself with.

1) No shortcut mentality, go all out with 100% dedication fulltime untill desirable outcome.
2) Then refine the system for better efficiency on time spent and cost, while achieving higher yield.
3) The system can never be good enough, it's always and always will be the challenge to fine tune the system that work to make it work better and better.

Some of the homework that I did :-

1) Visit the retail market often including pasar, and hypermarket
2) Pay a visit to MOA at putrajaya (I buta buta go there myself) and yes info can get.
3) Ask around those who has experience (very important)
4) Internet research
5) Ask yourself how far are you willing to go to achieve what you want to achieve.
6) Do a proper planning

Finally...

ACTION!


Anymore direction that can be helpful in research and planning that all the sifu here can give more ?

This post has been edited by M_century: Jan 4 2012, 11:32 PM

Hi All,

It took me few days to finish all the posts here. It is very interesting and provides me information to deal with the problem I had with my land. I have 2 pieces of land which have been abandoned for quite a long times. My new year resolution is to get myself into agriculture and produce a good result from my lands. I have one constraint is the location of my lands are far from where I stay. I work in KL and the lands are in Johor. I am only able to travel back for 1 day every 2 weeks. Therefore, I hired workers to take care of the land now.

1. 5 acres 6 years old Oil Palm tree.
Issue
- Weeds
- Pests
- Low production – only able to get 3.1 tones last month. Not able to get previous data. I only know the highest production is about 6 tones.
- Some trees also have infection.

2. 7 acres Fruit farm ( Durian, Langsat, Cempedak)
Issue
- weeds
- pests ( lots of termites )
- durian and cempedak trees have infection.

I will continue to post my journey and photo( how to post pictures?) to battle the issues in my farms.

May I know is there any reference/books/guide available for durian tree? I just planted 35 musang king in the fruit farm 2 months ago, there are 5 trees already said goodbye to me now.

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Added on January 5, 2012, 7:02 pmi read some oil plantation forum b4, and for 6 ekar can yield 3.1 tons consider ok lo, not too bad lo. As investment ok lo, 3 ton can sell estimate 1.5k ++ right ?

This post has been edited by loongloong3: Jan 5 2012, 07:02 PM

Welcome to the club loongloong3, do spend some time here, and you'll need to decide, whether Agriculture is the direction you want to go. There is up & down (just as with any business) in Agriculture. Do decide and plan properly before you embark on this or any business plan that you have.
Kindly understand that agriculture land is totally different from housing land. Bank loans, appreciation (or depreciation), disposal (when you sell), land condition, maintenance and etc.
As with any business, higher risk, higher return. Exotic / high value corps give high return. You'll need to start from working out what is your amount to service your bank loan, that is cost of land, amount loaned, repayment period. (FYI last few years when I check, agri land max 45% loan, and this is if you have good relation with the bank, maybe get higher if there is a structure).
Yes, there are plants that needs lesser care and there are plants that need more care. You may also mechanize some manual labor. Here we still have some "gotong royong style" (you help me, I help you method).
My personal experience, theft are mostly petty thief. Not serious. Lost about 6 Cavendish sucklings, about 25 grafted rubber trees, some ripe pumpkins. Personally I don't think this warrant any serious consideration as farm gate prices are just very low.
Just as with any business, there is a vast difference in Farm Gate price to Retail price, just like Factory prices vs Retail prices. Every one has their role to play, and everyone has their own set of expenses. Depending how aggressive is you marketing strategy, there are lots of avenue to market/target your produce. Since it's 1~2 acres, you most probably don't need to worry about exporting yet.
Hope these helps.

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Added on January 5, 2012, 8:05 pmWow, a go getter.
I guess a work progress schedule (clearing, fixture, irrigation), planting and estimated harvesting schedule (amount & date) shall help you prepare better. Securing a market before that shall also help.

Say, where's your farm? Can visit (even during starting?)

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Added on January 5, 2012, 8:23 pmHi Kg Teratai,
Weeds in plantation, we are having good success with Glyphosate Isopropylamine 41% + 2,4-D Butyl Ester 45% + Wetting agent in the rubber plantation.
As for low production, guess you'll need to find out the actual caused. Once rectified you may want to look at EM (effective Microbes / Enzyme).
Guess you are doing alright, since you've already identified your problem, un-like me, when I started, don't even know what is wrong. Just keep working on it.

I post pic by 1st loading it to Photobucket http://photobucket.com/
Hope these helps.


This post has been edited by MrFarmer: Jan 5 2012, 08:23 PM

Bro M_Century, personally i like you style. action-oriented and realistic. its a very hands-on thing

keep it up man




Bro Kg Teratai & loongloong3, on the issue of Oil Palm Yield i think the resident expert would be MJ Joel. He was previously with United Plantation as a plant breeder and now currently attached with Bio-Tech Malaysia.

Kg Teratai, on your land problems that will be a problem in future if you keep hiring foreign help instead of working on it. i can also understand that detaching yourself from your full time job to an unknown area of agriculture is very risky.

BUT there is an option, you can consider changing job to Johor so you can nearer to your land and pick up things faster.






Bro MrFarmer, agree with you on the loan part. they would allow between 40-50%. because land is deemed NOT FAST TURNAROUND.

Theft wise not much just petty thief just here and there...haha

Hi loongloong3,

I am not certain about the yields of oil palm. However, the yields that I mention is for 1 month, not every yield. If I am not mistaken, it should be average or normal output is about 1 ton per acre per month. Therefore, I am working to get 5 tons per month for 5 acres oil palm. Any sif can comments in this?

Hi MrFarmer,

Thank you for the information. I am not sure what is use for weed control previously. I will record down and share with everyone if I get the product names. Hoprefully I can get the right production by this year.

Hi ParaOpticaL,

Thank you for the advises. You are right, detach myself and move to agri will be a big risk for me. There is no career opportunity in the place near my farm. My farm is not generate enough income to substain my living. Therefore, I am only able to do it in the part time matters. I am lucky is that my bro is still there and have some workers to do the ground work for my farm. However, he is also very tighted up with his business. Therefore, I will need to be there for those quality control of the worker's ground work. I am not impressed with the ground work quality so far.

Currently, I will also need to replant 20-30 palm oil trees to refill those Pokok Jantan and those dead oil palm trees. If MJ Joel can advise what type of tree should I look for and reliable nursery near Tangkak, Johor that I can get it.



Here are some photos that I took last month

I suspect mice did this.


Not sure what happened. It look strange.


Same tree.

looks fun.

Banana Trees
Anyone knows how to identify Banana Trees by looking at the tree (no fruits). Would like to learn how to identify trees like Berangan, Cavendish, Emas, Kerling, Tanduk, Rubus, susu and etc. Had been searching for a couple of months but could not locate any guide.

Was in a friend's farm, saw this Banana, with red stem.

for future reference

Bro, from ur pic, that is actually caused by 'Kumbang tanduk'... U know the black colour one? it will eat and make hole on ur tree branch.. N eventually it will cause the tree branch to collapse... There's a pesticide that u can use to avoid the problem..

On the 2nd n 3rd pic, if im not mistaken, that is the effect of when the tree is still young, it terkena the racun when u do ur spraying round...

This post has been edited by ikiey: Jan 9 2012, 09:51 AM

Whoa!

I've been gone for just 4 days, and suddenly so many posts! Awesome!

Hmm.... Let me tackle the oil palm question first.

Kg_Teratai:

Firstly, I can't view your photos from where I am at now. But once I do, I will be able to comment more about the photos.

Just going by your statement about "pokok jantan", I believe you might be having some problem with the seedling supplier, unless I have misunderstood your definition of "pokok jantan". Correct me if I'm wrong, but are those trees only bearing male flowers and produce few or no mature fruited bunches? If this is the case, the supplier might be selling you open pollinated seeds. This is very bad, and I'll explain why.

Nearly all commercial oil palm varieties are hybrids. Overall, they are a cross between the Elaeis guineensis "Dura" type with huge bunches, very hard thick seeds, and low oil yields; and the Elaeis guineensis "Pisifera" type, which produces many abortive small bunches which have seeds without a hard shell, and very high oil yields.

The result of this hybridization is the "Tenera" aka DXP, which has medium to large bunches, a much thinner shell and higher oil yields compared to the Dura. I would say 99% of oil palm plantations plant this variety.

Now when the Tenera produces bunches in a plantation, it is the result of open-pollination amongst the Tenera palms. As the palms are hybrids, the resulting seedlings will not be "true-to-type", i.e. they will not be pure Tenera hybrids anymore. In such instances, you could expect about 25% of the seeds to produce "pokok jantan" aka Pisifera-palms, 25% to be Dura-palms, and 50% to be some messed-up version of the Tenera. 20 palms out of a 5 acres planting (assuming 54 stands per acre) is already 7.5%; I don't know if you had already taken out other similar palms before, but that is a very high figure. Ideally, if the materials had been obtained from a MPOB-certified and seed-producer sanctioned nursery or seedsmen, the figure should be ZERO. SIRIM's permission level for Dura-type palms is 1% MAX.

There is a caveat though: If your palms have severe pest infestation or disease eg. ganoderma, you could have palms that exhibit symptoms similar to "pokok jantan". I believe someone has just posted saying your palms have been attacked by rhinoceros beetles. And yes, they can be very damaging; sets cropping back to 1-2 years in many cases. Use cypermethrin and spear-drench the shoot if you can.

If it is ganoderma, can't help you much. If you intend to continue cultivating oil palm on the land, then cultural control would slow the spread. Dig out the palm with its root mass, chip the trunk and burn (if possible), and fill in new soil to the hole you've dug out. Be sure to get out as much of the root mass and bole as possible before you fill with new soil.

For seedling supply, just ask for the MPOB cert and licence from any nursery that sells oil palm seedlings. If they can produce them, you should be fine. Otherwise, the closest seed production unit is probably at Genting Plantations in Tangkak. You could also check with any MPOB office for such information. Or you could check this guy out: http://www.palm-oil-seed-benih-sawit.com/index_melaka.htm

I don't personally know the seller, so caveat emptor.


On yield, 3.1 tons per month for 5 acres for inland alluvials in Tangkak area is actually not terribly bad. Some proper weed management, timely fertilizer regimen, and proper water collection in the drains should help boost yields. I don't have the figures with me right now, but I also suspect that your area has some water stresses. Bear in mind that when the palm is stressed, especially due to water stresses (like drought, weed competition, disease inhibition etc.), yield will nose dive. And yes, the standard average yield for big plantations is just above 1 ton per acre per month. For smaller plantations, it is about 0.8 tons per acre per month. You are almost there, just put in some extra efforts, and you should have little trouble achieving that goal.

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Added on January 9, 2012, 9:52 amMr Farmer:

There are some ways to make "educated guesses" of banana varieties, but given that most edible varieties are closely related, it is almost always difficult to be absolutely certain.

The following documents should be of great help to anyone wanting to plant banana commercially. They cover a broad number of topics, from diseases and management, to variety, marketing etc.
http://agroforestry.net/tti/Musa-banana-plantain.pdf
http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Banana-plantain-overview.pdf

Although quite a read, it is very informative.

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Added on January 9, 2012, 10:47 amLoongloong3:

Firstly, allow me to commend you on your desire for entrepreneurship. Your action of sourcing for information is already the first step forward.

However, please pardon me if I start to be cutting or curt from this point onwards. Do not be disheartened with any of my comments, but instead look deeply into your intentions and goals before you determine if agriculture is the path for you.

Firstly, agriculture in any form requires a lot of dedication and hands-on management. Unlike other forms of investment like property rentals where the asset experiences less volatile fluctuations due to external dynamics, biological assets in agribusinesses are extremely sensitive to external dynamic such as weather, diseases, market supply and prices, consumer changes in taste, politics etc. A slight change in any one of these aspects could mean abundant wealth, or complete failure.

Both M_Century and Mr Farmer have highlighted very crucial points. Do take note. One simply CANNOT have a "tidak-apa" attitude in business if good returns are expected, especially in agriculture. If one cannot allocate sufficient time to manage a business, then better drop the idea completely, work a few more years to gain business experience, then only get involved. Even low-intensity investments/businesses like property rentals require some level of supervision and management if it were to succeed, what more agribusinesses which focuses on finicky biological assets.

I like to quote Jim Barrett, the owner of Chateau Montelena and winner of the 1976 Judgement of Paris wine competition (white wine), on his perspective about agriculture: "The vineyard's (farm's) best fertilizer is the owner's footsteps." If anyone would like to know more about the Judgement of Paris, please look up the movie Bottle Shock (although this is a dramaticization of the actual events).

Loongloong3, based on your last point, I can see you are not ready to take a position for the long haul. Agriculture is a business which requires heavy initial investments, and a long time frame for returns on investment. Successful farmers don't become rich overnight; they need to cultivate the land, plant the seedlings, and tend the plants for years. In many cases, nett profits only start coming in after the 10th year. If one seeks quick wins and fast money, forget about agriculture. Do real estate or investment banking instead. This is not being cynical, just real. You really need to evaluate the situation before going in, or there is a risk of getting burnt badly.

ps: This is not related to agriculture directly, but more to help people to think. If PJ properties/homes are too expensive for the average Malaysian to own/invest, what do you think they (or you) would do? No matter what, people still desire to own their home. And with the network of roads these days, places aren't far between anymore. I was in a similar situation as loongloong3 not too long ago. If I were to say I've managed to purchase a KL property at 10% below market price, and have made 30% within less than 1 year on capital, and averaged rental rates about 7% of the value of the property, what would the impression be? Do note, I'm serving the government so my pay isn't high at all. I don't get preferrential treatment either, if you know what I mean. I found that property after doing very detailed analysis and study of the KL housing markets and areas. I took time to study the population dynamics and demography, research the rental rates, check out the bank loans and offerings, and also the potential growth trends of the area in the next 5-10 years (my personal targets). I went through all those difficulties and ultimately, it is starting to pay off. I don't know if it will really yield what I'm targeting as my goal is only 5-10 years down the road, but so far so good.

Or what if I were to say I could get bungalows with land area of above 4,000 square feet and built-up of more than 2,500sqft for less than RM300,000 within 1 hour drive from KL, and then rent it out to the tourist crowd for an annual rental return of 10% on value? I have many associates who are doing this, and one group in particular has just bought their 10th house in the area. Their average monthly income is RM12,000 a month nett. And again, they do not receive any preferrential treatments. In fact, the leader of that group is (or was) a homemaker.

What I want to point out is, don't limit ourselves, but also don't over-extend. Just because Plan A doesn't work, don't think it's the end. Likewise, don't over-extend yourself if you know something isn't working, i.e. until Plan Z also kaput, still stubbornly pushing forward. Change, adapt, evolve, and grow. Look for things that others have not consider yet, and tap into those areas.

This post has been edited by Michael J.: Jan 9 2012, 11:45 AM

Hi Ikiey,

Thank you for the information.

For the Rhinocaros Beetles or Kumbang Tanduk, how exactly we can confirmed it is the exactly the cause?

Those trees are already 6-7 years old. Is it still considered a young tree?


Hi MJ Joel,

Wow.. This is a lot of information I need to pick up. Thank you also for the word of encouragement.

Pokok Jantan is those tree do not produce brunches at all. I want to replant all these trees. Those trees have been observed for one year that do not produce brunches. Last weekend I try to burn few trees, however, these trees are 7 years old. I will need to burn it 4-5 times to make it become ashes and replant it. May I know is there any better way to do this? I am thinking to hired machinery to dig up the whole tree and then replant it. However, hiring the machinery will cost higher.

I believe my bro was cheated by the seedling supplier. Those seeds and plants were not selected properly when it was planted in my farm. I will show you those brunches photos regard this.

The seeding supplier information you shared is very useful. Thank you again.

Regard the rhinoceros beetles, how can we confirmed it is the cause? “Spear-drench the shoot if you can.” Does it mean I need to spear the whole tree? I found a lot of trees have the similar symptoms.

As for the tree that show funny symptoms on the leaf. I really hope it is not ganoderma.

The yields on 7 Jan is 0.8 ton, the next one will be on 20th Jan and hopefully it will yield better. I will share once I have the reading.

Again, I have few question regard the weed control, Fertilizer regimen and water collection. I am welcome all the sifu here to share the opinion and

Weed Control,
I am thinking to use the machinery to cut down those weeds. The reason I considered about this is long term cost effective and better to the soils. What is your opinion? Others are welcome to share your opinion?

Fertilizer regimen,
1. I hear the older said, the fertilizer will need to apply quarterly. How can I know what kind of fertilizer is needed for my oil palm tree? What should I apply quarterly?
2. How can I analysis the soil to know what are the elements (N, P, K) that short in soil? Any DIY way? I believe after analysis the soil, we can optimize the fertilizer application.

Water collection,
My land is considered a flat land combined a little slide of hill. There is no river pass by the land. Those oil palm trees are planted into a 3 fleet wide holes. This formed the water collection. Over the years the holes have been swallowed. I will like to know how to determine the tree are water stressed. I am also looking for the way to improve the water collection.

Here are some brunches photo that I taken on 7th Jan.

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Added on January 9, 2012, 5:06 pmNow, this is from my fruit farm.


Musang Kia in the making.


Infection, May I know any cure for this?


Another Photo to show the infection.


Termites... How to make them runaway from my farm?

This post has been edited by Kg Teratai: Jan 9 2012, 05:06 PM