Which cover crop seed is right for your plantation? The answer depends on your crop (oil palm, rubber, coconut, or durian), canopy stage, soil pH, rainfall pattern, and management capacity. Chemiseed Sdn. Bhd., a Malaysian supplier of legume cover crop seed and soil conditioners to plantations since 2003, supplies five leguminous cover crop species, each with documented strengths and clear limitations: Mucuna bracteata (MB), Pueraria javanica (PJ), Calopogonium mucunoides (CM), Centrosema pubescens (CP) and Calopogonium caeruleum (CC). Seed is germination- and purity-tested to ISTA and AOSA methods. We also supply SoilBoost EA humic acid soil conditioner (manufactured exclusively for Chemiseed Sdn. Bhd. and Kudzu Seeds Trading) and RB Lure rhinoceros beetle pheromone traps. We supply buyers worldwide on request, from Malaysia. Where the destination country requires one, seed consignments travel with a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Department of Agriculture Malaysia (DOA) for export. Import permits and admissibility are the buyer's responsibility. SoilBoost EA is a mined mineral soil conditioner rather than plant material, so a phytosanitary certificate is generally not the applicable document for it.
Which buyer type are you?
Plantation Manager
Oil palm, rubber, coconut, or durian estates. Need species matched to canopy stage, soil type, and hectarage. Oil palm guide | Rubber guide
Smallholder / Home Garden
Small-scale planting, erosion control, or soil improvement. SoilBoost EA 500g and 1kg packs available. View SoilBoost EA
Guides and Comparisons
Frequently Asked Questions
Which cover crop species is best for oil palm?
It depends on canopy stage and management capacity. For young oil palm with active management, Mucuna bracteata (MB) is recommended: in one 15N isotope dilution study under three-year-old oil palm on Jawa Series soil in Malaysia it drew 67 to 84% of its nitrogen from fixation (Cheah, Zaharah and Aminuddin 2010, MPOB OPB 60), and it tolerates seasonal dry spells once established. For young oil palm with limited management, a CM/PJ/CP/CC mix avoids the risk of MB smothering palms. For mature shaded oil palm, CC and CP persist better under canopy. See our
Oil Palm Species Selection Guide.
What is the difference between PJ and MB?
Both are high-performing tropical legume cover crops, but they serve different roles. MB is stronger for young oil palm on mineral soils with vigorous growth and drought resilience, but demands active palm-circle maintenance. PJ suits rubber inter-rows, coconut basins, and systems where moderate growth is preferred. See our
PJ vs MB Comparison.
How many kilograms of seed do I need per hectare?
Seeding rates vary by species and planting method. Published rates: PJ about 4 kg/ha in a pure stand (Tropical Forages); CP 3 to 5 kg/ha broadcast (Tropical Forages); CC 1 to 1.5 kg/ha sown with 5 to 7.5 kg/ha of PJ (Tropical Forages; no published rate exists for CC sown alone). MB is not broadcast: it is established from nursery-raised seedlings, 320 seedlings/ha from about 500 seeds (75 g) (MPOB TT No. 501) or 680 seedlings/ha (Samedani et al. 2015). For mixtures, use the published per-species component rates rather than a flat reduction: MPOB TT No. 501 (Information Series 588, June 2012) Table 1 treatment C2 is PJ 4 : CP 3 : CC 1, a total of 8 kg/ha, with 5 g Rhizobium (RRI strain) per kg of seed; PROSEA 4 (1992) gives calopo, centro and kudzu at 5:4:1, or centro and kudzu at 4:1, at 2 to 5 kg/ha in the interrow. Note that MPOB TT 501 is a peat trial and does not state whether its rate is per gross hectare or per interrow hectare actually sown. For any other species or site, the rate is set on the quotation:
contact us with your hectarage and soil conditions.
Do cover crops increase yield?
Cover crops provide documented benefits for soil nitrogen, weed suppression, erosion control, and soil structure. Some studies report yield improvements, but yield outcomes depend on site conditions, management quality, and the comparator used. The primary value of cover crops is soil-system improvement, not guaranteed yield increases.
What is SoilBoost EA and how does it differ from fertiliser?
SoilBoost EA is a humic-acid-based soil conditioner manufactured exclusively for Chemiseed Sdn. Bhd. and Kudzu Seeds Trading. Fertilisers supply nutrients (N, P, K). SoilBoost EA is used to support the soil's ability to hold and deliver those nutrients. A meta-analysis of humic acid fertilisers (Ma, Cheng & Zhang 2024, Agronomy 14: 2763) reports averages of about +12% yield and +27% nitrogen use efficiency, but it covered humic acid products as a class and did not test SoilBoost EA; the authors also report that effects diminish outside pH 6 to 8. They are complementary to fertiliser, not interchangeable, and SoilBoost EA is not a fertiliser substitute. See our
Soil Enhancer vs Fertiliser explainer.
Do you ship internationally?
Yes. We supply buyers worldwide on request, from Malaysia. Where the destination country requires one, seed consignments travel with a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Department of Agriculture Malaysia (DOA) for export. Import permits and admissibility are the buyer's responsibility.
Request a quotation with your destination country, or message us on WhatsApp at
+60 17-237 4058.
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