| Summary: | Soil water content is one of the dynamics of water conditions that can be a limiting factor in achieving optimal oil palm productivity. The extensive oil palm plantations make it difficult to acquire soil moisture content data. Soil water content conditions can be estimated by remote sensing technology through the vegetation and drought index, and also can be mapped using an interpolation approach. This study aimed to map the optimal soil water content in oil palm plantations based on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Multi-band Drought Index (NMDI), and Interpolation. The results showed that the highest soil moisture was found on 0-3% slope gradient and the lowest on 8-15% slope gradient. Vegetation density based on NDVI analysis result was quite high, while the level of dryness based on NMDI analysis result was quite humid. Mapping of soil water content based on NDVI and NMDI had a very weak correlation with soil water content so both indices are less responsive in describing soil moisture conditions in the field. Interpolated water content value had a fairly strong relationship with the soil water content and had the highest suitability, so the interpolation approach can be recommended for mapping soil water content in an oil palm plantation area.
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