Cover Crops in Thailand: Chemiseed Supply for Plantations

Chemiseed supplies leguminous cover crop seeds and SoilBoost EA soil conditioner from Malaysia, on request, for rubber, oil palm, and sugarcane systems in Thailand. Cover crops fix nitrogen, hold soil on slopes during the immature phase, suppress weeds, conserve moisture, and build organic matter. The right species depends on the crop, region, and planting stage.

At a glance: Thailand context

  • Rubber: Thailand is one of the world's largest natural rubber producers, with mature estates and smallholdings concentrated in southern provinces including Surat Thani, Songkhla, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Yala, and Narathiwat, plus expansion in the northeast (Isan).
  • Oil palm: Southern Thailand, particularly Krabi, Surat Thani, Chumphon, and Trang, hosts most of the country's oil palm area.
  • Sugarcane: Central and northeastern provinces are the heart of Thai sugarcane, where erosion control and organic matter recovery are recurring concerns between ratoons.
  • Common challenges: tropical rainfall and sloping terrain in the south, leaching-prone soils, and the need for fast early cover at replanting.

Cover crop species relevant to Thailand

Pueraria javanica (PJ): vigorous core legume

PJ (tropical kudzu) has a long history in Southeast Asian rubber and oil palm and is well known to Thai plantation managers. It is a vigorous core legume valued for biomass and nitrogen contribution. A published rate for Pueraria sown alone is about 4 kg/ha (Tropical Forages, CIAT and ILRI 2020); the rate for your site is set on the quotation. The most defensible published nitrogen figure for this species comes from a single rubber-intercrop trial in northeast Thailand, where the cover accumulated up to 250 kg N per hectare per year in aboveground biomass, with 85 to 93% of that nitrogen drawn from the atmosphere (Clermont-Dauphin et al. 2016, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 217:79-88). Treat that as a measured upper reference point from one trial on one site, not as a design value to plan a fertiliser programme against. The same trial also found that the legume cover reduced the drought resilience of the young rubber trees on water-limited ground, so on drought-prone sites the cover needs managing back from the planting rows.

Mucuna bracteata (MB): nursery-raised, long-lived cover

MB produces dense, persistent ground cover well suited to rubber and oil palm. It is nursery-raised and transplanted, not broadcast like the other species. Published plantings used 320 seedlings per hectare, two per palm point, raised from about 500 seeds (75 g) (MPOB TT No. 501, on peat), and 680 seedlings per hectare at 1.5 m spacing (Samedani et al. 2015, on mineral soil). MB is the shade-tolerant species in this group, which is why it is used under maturing oil palm; PJ thins as the canopy closes. Isotope work puts MB at 67 to 84% of its nitrogen drawn from the atmosphere (Cheah, Zaharah & Aminuddin 2010, Oil Palm Bulletin 60); we do not publish an absolute kg N/ha figure for MB, because none we can trace is sound.

Calopogonium mucunoides (CM): fast pioneer

CM is a useful pioneer after planting or replanting: it covers the soil 3 to 6 months after sowing, sooner on newly cleared fertile land, and forms a dense sward at 4 to 5 months (PROSEA 11, Chen Chin Peng and Aminah 1997). The seeding rate for your site is set on the quotation.

Centrosema pubescens (CP) and Calopogonium caeruleum (CC): shade tolerant for canopy closure

As the canopy closes and light at ground level drops, shade-persistent legumes carry the cover forward. CP and CC are the successors in that role. Published rates: CP 3 to 5 kg/ha broadcast; CC 1 to 1.5 kg/ha sown with 5 to 7.5 kg/ha of PJ (Tropical Forages, CIAT and ILRI 2020). There is no published rate for CC sown alone. These species are often combined with pioneers in a mixed cover strategy. A conventional plantation mixture follows MPOB TT No. 501 (Information Series 588, June 2012), Table 1 treatment C2: PJ 4 : CP 3 : CC 1, total 8 kg/ha, with 5 g of Rhizobium (RRI strain) inoculant per kg of seed. That is an institutional best-management-practice recommendation from a peat trial, not a primary field measurement, and MPOB does not state whether the 8 kg/ha is per gross hectare or per interrow hectare actually sown.

SoilBoost EA on acidic and leaching-prone soils

SoilBoost EA is a Leonardite-derived humic acid soil conditioner manufactured exclusively for Chemiseed Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia) and Kudzu Seeds Trading. It has pH 3.84 and 0.45% sulfur as sent (25.81% sample moisture), equivalent to 0.61% on a dry-weight basis. Typical analysis. A certificate of analysis for the batch supplied is available on request. On the acidic mineral and leaching-prone soils common in Thai rubber and oil palm areas, a humic acid conditioner supports soil condition and structure. SoilBoost EA is applied by broadcast at 50 to 100 kg/ha or by drench at 10 to 15 kg/ha. It is a soil conditioner: it is not a fertiliser substitute and not a disease treatment.

Request availability and quote for Thailand

Chemiseed supplies buyers worldwide on request, from Malaysia, on a quote-only basis. Thai estates, cooperatives, and government programmes can request a quotation. Pricing and lead time are confirmed per enquiry based on species, volume, and shipment terms.

Request availability and quote for Thailand

Or message us directly: WhatsApp +60 17-237 4058. See also how can we help for the right intake form.

Trust and seed quality

Chemiseed cover crop seed lots are tested to ISTA and AOSA methods for germination and purity. Chemiseed exports from Malaysia, so where the destination requires one, consignments travel with a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Department of Agriculture Malaysia (DOA) for export, on request. Import permits and import admissibility remain the buyer's responsibility. Spec sheets and certificates of analysis are available on request via the document center.

For Philippine enquiries, see our Philippine sister company Kudzu Seeds Trading (KudzuSeeds), which is BPI-permitted in the Philippines.

Frequently asked questions

Which cover crop is best for Thai rubber plantations?

Pueraria javanica and Mucuna bracteata are widely used legume covers in rubber. PJ is broadcast; a published rate for Pueraria sown alone is about 4 kg/ha (Tropical Forages). MB is nursery-raised and transplanted by seedling count, not a kilogram rate: MPOB TT No. 501 used 320 seedlings per hectare raised from about 500 seeds (75 g).

What does Chemiseed supply for oil palm in southern Thailand?

The same species used in Malaysia and Indonesia apply: a fast pioneer such as Calopogonium mucunoides for early cover, plus Pueraria javanica, Mucuna bracteata, and shade-persistent Centrosema pubescens or Calopogonium caeruleum once the canopy closes.

What does SoilBoost EA do?

SoilBoost EA is a humic acid soil conditioner that supports soil condition and structure on acidic, leaching-prone soils. It is applied at 50 to 100 kg/ha by broadcast or 10 to 15 kg/ha by drench. It is not a fertiliser substitute.

How do I get a price for Thailand?

Chemiseed operates on a quote-only basis. Request availability through the form above or WhatsApp, and we will confirm species availability, lead time, and pricing for your shipment.

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