Month: February 2020

MPOB has identified genetic engineering as a promising technology which can be utilized to face challenges such as labour short, age, limited land resources and fluctuations in commodity prices. The production of transgenic oil palm with useful genes has a clear advantage as it could increase return  per unit area. Expression of forgien genes in … Read more

MPOB introduced the oil palm motorized cutter, Cantas, in 2007. Cantas is suitable for harvesting fresh fruit bunches (FFB) from palms up to 5 m tall, which is the height normally reached by palms which are less then 13 years old. Canas is easy to use and is less strenuous for the worker compared to … Read more

Fertilizer management practices are very important in oil palm cultivation for high yield production and to minimize negative impact on the environment. Nutrients applied as fertilizers are subjected to losses in the dissolved from via surface runoff, erosion, vocalization, leaching and fixation in the soil. For example, higher rates of fertilizer application per unit area … Read more

Biofertilizer is a substance which contains living microorganisms. When applied to seed, plant surfaces or the soil, the microorganisms in biofertilizer colonize the rhizosphere or the interior of the plant, and promote growth by increasing the supply or availability of the primary nutrients to the host plant. Most biofertilizer contain root nodule bacteria, mycorrhizal fungi and other microorganisms that facilitate nutrients … Read more

Historically, oil palm trunks (OPT) were burnt to make way for replanting. Burning of oil palm biomass reduces the risk of potentialpests and diseases. In 1994, open burning of crop residues in Malaysia was banned due  to environmental and health concerns. This led to the practice of the zero-burning technique. With extensive oil palm replanting, … Read more