Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a rod-shaped 1-1.2 microns, gram positive, facultative anaerobic, spore forming bacterium. During sporulation, it produces insecticidal crystal proteins (ICP) or δ-endotoxins or Cry proteins. The primary insecticidal activity of Bt is due to the ICP. The Cry proteins were grouped according to their specific toxicity towards certain insect orders. Main Researcher: […]

Bagworm (Metisa plana) is one of the important leaf-eating pests of oil palm in Malaysia. Crop losses, due to the defoliation by a serious bagworm attack is inevitable. A moderate to serious bagworm defoliation may cause between 33%-47% reduction in yield (Wood et al., 1973; Basri, 1993). Main Researcher: Dr Mohd Basri Wahid

The high basal stem rot (BSR) disease incidence in existing of oil palm stands calls for immediate short-term measures to control this disease. The use of fungicides together with a correct technique of application need to be investigated. In vitro studies reported that numerous fungicides were strongly inhibitory towards the Ganoderma growth. Main Researcher: Dr […]

One of the important parameters in crop growth is leaf area index (LAI). It represents the leafiness of the crop as measured by the ratio of leaf to ground surface area. This index is often used in radiation conversion efficiency models, and in modelling photosynthetic response of the canopy to incident light (Dufrene et al., […]

Planting density, defined as the number of planting points per unit area of land, is one of the important factors determining oil palm productivity. On the other hand, agronomic optimum planting density refers to the density that gives the highest cumulative yield, and economic optimum planting density is defined as the density giving the highest […]