The ever increasing cost of production and poor commodity prices as a result of greater market competition have compelled the plantation industry to look for improved production techniques to reduce costs in order to maximize profits. One way towards achieving the above objective is through mechanization of the harvesting process. With mechanization, workers’ productivity and […]

Current commodities market competition and agriculture regulations are forcing the oil palm industry to seek more competitive management methods to produce palm oil. With the development of geographic information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), variable-rate technology (VRT) and remote sensing technology (RS), many oil palm plantations in this country have started adopting precision agriculture […]

Basal stem rot (BSR) caused by Ganoderma boninense, which is a serious disease, especially in the replanted areas from old oil palm and coconut, remains the major disease of oil palm in Southeast Asia (Idris et al., 2003). Ganoderma is a saprophyte that can infect a living palm if there is a large enough inoculum. The […]

Basal stem rot (BSR) disease caused by species of Ganoderma is presently the most prevalent and devastating disease in oil palm cultivation, especially in mature palm areas in Malaysia. Some of the estate practices for controlling this disease consist of surgical, removal of infected palms, soil mounding, fungicide treatment or combination of these methods (Ariffin […]

The threat of Ganoderma, the causal agent of basal stem rot (BSR) disease to the oil palm industry in Malaysia warrants new and more aggressive approaches in Tfinding solution to this disease. The situation is more critical with the active replanting of second generation of oil palm which is currently being carried out in some […]