Potential rainwater availability and crop water requirement of oil palm crops due to climate change

Abstract Climate change affects rainfall variability and impacts water availability, rainfall patterns, and the water requirements of oil palm plants. This research aims to analyze rainfall patterns, predict water availability from rainfall with an 80% reliability level, and calculate the water requirements of oil palm plants at various growth stages. The study was conducted using climate data from 2012 to 2023 in Ketapang District, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The results indicate that the rainfall pattern in the Ketapang region has two peaks, occurring in May and December. Water availability predicted at an 80% probability shows the highest rainfall in December and the lowest in August, with a tendency for rainfall to exceed the 10-year average (2012–2022). The water requirements of immature oil palm plants, aged 2–5 years, range from 996.79 mm/year to 1045.42 mm/year, while the water requirements of mature plants aged 6–9 years range from 1118.35 mm/year to 1130.51 mm/year.