> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://badixth-dc85e378.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Oil Palm Field Walk Protocol: Standard Scout Inspection Sequence

> The standard census and inspection sequence for oil palm scouts: what to look at, in what order, and what to record on each palm and block.

Oil palm scouting is not the same as rice scouting. You are looking at a stand of long-lived individuals, not a uniform seasonal canopy. Use this protocol as the checklist for a routine census, a follow-up on a satellite alert, or a monthly inspection round.

## When to run this protocol

* **Monthly** on immature and yield build-up blocks (1 to 8 years)
* **Every 2 to 3 months** on peak-yield blocks (8 to 18 years)
* **Immediately** on any block flagged by a satellite alert or when harvest crews report anomalies
* **Quarterly Ganoderma census** on all blocks over 8 years old

## What to bring

* Block map with palm rows numbered
* Palm-level record sheet or mobile app tied to the field data model
* Machete or trunk-tapping tool (Ganoderma sound test)
* Sample bags for frond and soil samples
* Camera or phone (photograph any anomaly)
* GPS for palm-level records

## The 4-step inspection sequence

Run each step on every suspect palm, in this order. Skipping a step is the most common cause of missed diagnoses.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Crown shape and spear condition">
    Look up first. The crown tells you about growing-point health and recent (weeks to months) stress.

    * **Symmetry** - is one side collapsing? (Ganoderma early sign)
    * **Spear** - upright, healthy green, and firm? Or brown, drooping, or pulling out easily? (Bud Rot, rhino beetle)
    * **Young fronds** - hooked, fish-tail, or little-leaf? (Boron deficiency, Crown Disease)
    * **Youngest frond color** - pale or chlorotic? (Iron, Crown Disease)
    * **Feeding damage** - V-notches, defoliation, or webbing? (Rhino beetle, bagworms, nettle caterpillars)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Frond color pattern (which fronds, which position)">
    This is the nutrient decision. Note *which* fronds are affected and *where* on the palm.

    * **Whole canopy pale** - Nitrogen
    * **Older fronds only, orange spots** - Potassium (on mineral soils)
    * **Older fronds only, whole-frond orange** - Magnesium (on light soils)
    * **Mid-crown yellow-green** - Copper (on peat and sandy soils)
    * **Older fronds bronze or purple** - Phosphorus
    * **Young fronds pale or chlorotic** - Iron (on high-pH soils)

    Record the affected frond number (fronds are numbered from the newest, spear = frond 1). Frond position tells the age of the stress.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Trunk base and mid-trunk">
    Walk around the palm and inspect the trunk. This is where the biggest killer diseases show.

    * **Basal brackets** - shelf-shaped fungus at the base? (Ganoderma / Basal Stem Rot)
    * **Mid-trunk brackets** - same shelf-shape higher up? (Upper Stem Rot)
    * **Bore holes with frass or oozing sap** - Palm weevil, termites
    * **Tapping test** - a hollow-sounding lower trunk on an older palm is a Ganoderma indicator even without visible brackets
    * **Leaning** - is the palm leaning more than neighbors? (Peat subsidence, root disease)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Bunch and inflorescence">
    Look at bunch load and any damage.

    * **Bunch presence** - fewer bunches than neighbors of the same age? (Drought lag, disease decline)
    * **Aborted inflorescences** - dried brown spikelets? (Drought stress 12 to 24 months ago)
    * **Rat damage** - chewed loose fruit at base?
    * **Bunch rot** - discolored, soft, or moldy bunches?
    * **Sex ratio** - persistently male inflorescences? (Stress signal, not a disease)
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What to record per palm

Minimum record for a palm flagged as abnormal:

| Field             | Notes                                                                                    |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Block and palm ID | GPS if available                                                                         |
| Date              | Inspection date                                                                          |
| Stand age         | Years since planting                                                                     |
| Crown status      | Symmetric / one-side collapse / spear rot / etc.                                         |
| Frond color note  | Which frond, which color                                                                 |
| Trunk status      | Clean / brackets / bore holes / leaning                                                  |
| Bunch load        | Normal / below neighbors / none                                                          |
| Suspected cause   | Diagnosis from the [Oil Palm Diagnosis](/guides/Crop/Oil-Palm/oil-palm-diagnosis) tables |
| Action taken      | Sanitation, treatment, marked for felling, sampled, etc.                                 |
| Follow-up date    | When to re-inspect                                                                       |

## Block-level summary to record

After walking a block, record:

* Number of palms inspected
* Number and location of abnormal palms
* Pattern (scattered, spreading focus, gradient, block-wide)
* Recent weather or management events
* Recommendation (treat, resample, escalate, or continue monitoring)

## Linking to satellite alerts

If you were sent to this block by a satellite alert:

1. Confirm the alerted zone on the ground.
2. Record whether the pattern matches (block-wide, gradient, cluster, single palm).
3. Use the [Oil Palm Diagnosis](/guides/Crop/Oil-Palm/oil-palm-diagnosis) tables to move from the field pattern to a cause.
4. Set a follow-up alert on the same block or zone via the [Alerts](/guides/alerts-notifications) page.

## Related

* [Oil Palm Diagnosis](/guides/Crop/Oil-Palm/oil-palm-diagnosis) - the decision tree that this walk feeds into.
* [Healthy NDVI ranges for oil palm](/guides/Crop/Oil-Palm/oil-palm-ecosystems) - the baseline your inspection compares against.
* [Set up automated crop alerts](/guides/alerts-notifications)