The oil palm has three naturally occurring fruit forms, varying in shell thickness: i) thick shell dura, ii) thin shell tenera, and iii) shell-less pisifera (Figure 1). Teneras are hybrids between the dura and pisifera, and the preferred commercial planting material. Oil yield of tenera is up to 30% higher than the dura, while pisifera is female sterile and does not usually produce matured bunches.  Main Research: Dr Rajinder Sing

Feed is one of the major success factors in livestock enterprise for intensive production system. Intensive production system relies ultimately on a good feed supply in term of quantity and quality. Feed quality has direct impact on livestock performance especially on body conformation, breeding efficiency and milk production. With intensive livestock integration in place, therefore it is important to have a good fodder supply […]

The basal stem rot (BSR) disease in oil palm is caused by the wood decaying fungi, Ganoderma boninense (Figure 1). It is a serious disease especially in the replanted areas from old oil palm and coconut and remain as a major disease of oil palm in South-east Asia. Ganoderma produces enzymes that degrade the oil palm tissue which […]

MPOB has introduced the Integrated Ganoderma Management (IGM) which incorporates biological control by using micro-organism antagonist against basal stem rot (BSR) or Ganoderma disease (Idris,2011). Studies by several researchers have shown that many species of beneficial microorganisms including actinomycetes, bacteria and fungi have the ability to effectively suppress plant diseases. Actinomycetes are a group of microorganisms which produce secondary […]

Basal stem rot (BSR) disease caused by the Ganoderma species is a serious problem to the oil palm industry (Idris,2012). MPOB has introduced the integrated Ganoderma Management (IGM) to find solution to the disease (Idris, 2011). Plant nutrients are primary components of disease control in many crops (Sharma, 2006; Mcmahon, 2012). Nutrients are inorganic elements that have been essential […]