Month: February 2020

Bagworm control with broad-spectrum contact insecticides has often disrupted the balance between the insect and its natural enemies – its predators, parasitoids and microbial pathogens. Most chemical insecticides also affect non-target organisms, and their residues often persist in the environment. The insecticidal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are very target specific. Active ingredients of Bt … Read more

Phosphate rock (PR) is used almost exclusively as P fertilizer for perennial crops in Malaysia. This is attributed to its rapid P dissolution and high P sorption capacity under the high rainfall and acidic soil conditions in the country. It is, of course, also cheap. For decades, Christmas Island Rock Phosphate (CIRP) was the main PR … Read more

Genetic engineering is a powerful tool to manipulate the genome of an organism for it to produce a new trait(s) or to change its existing trait(s). Plant genetic engineering involves procedures like gene isolation, characterization, modifi cation and, eventually, introduction and expression of the gene in the transgenic plant. It covers the fi elds of … Read more

The quality of palm oil is primarily determined by its content of free fatty acids (FFA) as they are easily oxidized to make the oil rancid. Sambanthamurthi et al. (1991) reported an increase in FFA in palm oil due to the action of an endogenous lipase. Lipases are one of the most studied groups of … Read more

Oil palms can be distinguished based on the colour of their fruit coats. The two most common types are nigrescens (Nig) and virescens (Vir) (Figure 1). Vir fruits undergo a clear colour change on ripening, making it easier to identify the ripe bunches for harvesting. The fruits of the more commonly occurring Nig palms undergo only … Read more