TT

Parasitoids and predators play a major role in regulating pest numbers, especially the bagworms and nettle caterpillars. A field study had revealed the importance of several species of parasitoids in regulating the bagworm numbers at low levels, which in effect is natural control (Basri et al., 1995). Main Researcher: Dr Norman Kamaruddin Email: norman@mpob.gov.my

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a rod-shaped 1-1.2 microns, gram positive, facultative anaerobic, spore forming bacterium. During sporulation, it produces insecticidal crystal proteins (ICP) or δ-endotoxins or Cry proteins. The primary insecticidal activity of Bt is due to the ICP. The Cry proteins were grouped according to their specific toxicity towards certain insect orders. Main Researcher: … Read more

Bagworm (Metisa plana) is one of the important leaf-eating pests of oil palm in Malaysia. Crop losses, due to the defoliation by a serious bagworm attack is inevitable. A moderate to serious bagworm defoliation may cause between 33%-47% reduction in yield (Wood et al., 1973; Basri, 1993). Main Researcher: Dr Mohd Basri Wahid

The high basal stem rot (BSR) disease incidence in existing of oil palm stands calls for immediate short-term measures to control this disease. The use of fungicides together with a correct technique of application need to be investigated. In vitro studies reported that numerous fungicides were strongly inhibitory towards the Ganoderma growth. Main Researcher: Dr … Read more

One of the important parameters in crop growth is leaf area index (LAI). It represents the leafiness of the crop as measured by the ratio of leaf to ground surface area. This index is often used in radiation conversion efficiency models, and in modelling photosynthetic response of the canopy to incident light (Dufrene et al., … Read more