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The field activities of transporting fresh fruit bunches (FFB) to roadside collecting points, spreading fertilizers and weedicide spraying can be mechanized to reduce the number of workers, increase worker productivity and the area covered. The normal method for transporting FFB is by wheelbarrow, controlling weeds by knapsack sprayer and applying fertilizer. These activities are hard … Read more

The physical characteristics of peat soil limits its mechanization.Anotherlimitation is the rising debris from the sinking of the soil. The protruding debris – old logs or T stumps – obstruct the movement of machines and may also damage the under-carriage. Thus, itis importantto consider seriously these limiting factors when introducing machines for peat areas. The … Read more

Basal stem rot (BSR), caused by the fungus Ganoderma, is the most serious disease of oil palm in Malaysia and Indonesia. Previously, research on BSR was hampered by the failure to artificially infect oil palm with the fungus. Although Ganoderma had been associated with BSR (Thompson, 1931), proof of its pathogenicity to satisfy Koch’s postulate … Read more

There is high demand for monounsaturated and polyunsaturated dietary oils and fats; hence, an increase in their unsaturation is desirable. Higher unsaturation in palm oil enables better penetration into the liquid oil market. The current palm oil is semi-solid at room temperature (28ºC), limiting its use as liquid oil in temperate countries. MPOB has developed … Read more

The country is currently facing rapidly depleting prime agricultural land for further expansion of oil palm planting area. As such,the strategy by the oil palm industry should be to increase yield per unit area. This may be achieved through good agricultural practices (GAP) and planting of improved genetic materials. Another alternative is to develop specialized … Read more