How do I know what bunch maturity to harvest oil palm and how often to harvest?

Harvesting at the right ripeness is important for oil palm because under ripe bunches give low oil and over ripe ones lose quality and get rejected or cut at the mill. The common ripeness sign is when a few loose fruits start detaching and dropping from the bunch naturally, indicating it is ready to cut. Once palms are in regular bearing you harvest on a rotation, often roughly every 10 to 15 days, going round the plantation and cutting the ripe bunches each round. Bunches must reach the mill quickly, within a day or two, because they cannot be stored. Train your cutters on the ripeness signs. Confirm the exact maturity standard and harvest rotation your buying company wants, since they grade and pay on ripeness.