Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt.), which harbours Cry 1 delta-endotoxins is effective for the control of several lepidopteran insect pests. It is lepidopteran specific, environmental friendly, does not affect man, bird, fish and therefore, an ideal alternative for chemical insecticide. New Bt. strains and formulations rapidly introduced in the 1990s had further increased the Bt market. In Europe and North America, Bt. has been widely used in control programmes against lepidopteran pest (Amos Navon, 2000). PCR screening for gene content of MPOB indigenous isolates showed that several of these isolates harbour toxins effective for oil palm lepidopteran pest such as bagworms, nettle caterpillars and bunch moths (Ramlah Ali and Basri, 2002). 

Main Research: Dr Siti Ramlah Ahmad Ali