Sago palm grows well in humid tropical lowlands, up to an altitude of 700 m.
Temperatures should be above 25¡C on average, but the crop tolerates temperatures
of around 17¡C, provided these only last a few hours. Relative air humidity should
on the average be above 70%, but a few hours below that level are not harmful.
Incidental light should preferably be above 800 k/cm2 per day, thus above the level
under a half-clouded sky (Flach et al. 1986a). Salinity should not exceed 10 S/m,
equivalent to one-eighth of the salt concentration of sea water. Flooding for a
prolonged period has an adverse effect on yield. Stagnant water inhibits growth, but
inundation for a few hours, even with saline water, does not appear to do so (Flach
et al. 1977). These experiments were conducted in hothouses, with young seedlings,
but the results are not contradicted in cultivation.