About
Muhdan Syarovy, M.Sc.
First-Level Researcher & Head of Soil & Agronomy Research Group
Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute (PPKS)
An active researcher since 2013, with strong roots in field agronomy. His work spans oil palm physiology, optimization of problem soils, and the role of cover crops in marginal lands. Since 2022, he has been exploring machine learning and AI as an extension of field research: production forecasting, plant condition estimation, and camera-based visual recognition. Alongside research, he has developed several digital applications to support plantation practice. He now integrates both worlds, field agronomy and data-driven approaches, in mounding technique research and precision plantation pipeline development.
Last 3 Years
Research Focus
Three ongoing lines of research.
Rooted in field agronomy, expanding into data analysis and predictive modeling for modern oil palm plantations.
Oil Palm Physiology & Agronomy
Ecophysiology research built since 2013 — covering morphological and physiological responses to water stress, drought, and haze, as well as the effects of climate stress on flower development and bunch ripening. Transpiration studies using the heat ratio method and analysis of weather and soil moisture effects on daily transpiration rates. Complemented by research on Mucuna bracteata cover crops in problem soils as a strategy to support oil palm growth.
Marginal Lands, Mounding & Ganoderma
Growth optimization on Spodosol soils, use of soil amendments in nurseries, and mounding techniques to improve productivity on peatlands. Includes research on soil property responses, root development, and the physiology of oil palm infected with Ganoderma boninense under mounding treatment.
AI, Modeling & Deep Learning for Oil Palm
Neural networks and RNN-LSTM for production forecasting, chlorophyll estimation from portable sensors using ML, and computer vision models for fruit maturity classification and plant population estimation. Includes a full production cycle simulation, development of OPA (Oil Palm Assistant) with Chat OPA, and ALFAA, a field agronomy QC monitoring platform at PPKS Marihat, alongside Python-based model implementations for precision plantation data analysis.
Education
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M.Sc.
Agricultural Engineering & Biosystems Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM)
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B.Sc.
Agronomy Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU)