(MPOB Transfer of Technology)
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
The pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a member of the Bromeliaceae, a large, diverse family of about 2000 species. It was introduced to Malaysia in the 16th century by the Portuguese, and it is believed to have originated from South America. The plant is a rosette-forming, herbaceous monocot, 60-20 cm tall and 90 cm – 120 … Read more
Crop integration with oil palm is one way to maximize land productivity. To ensure oil palm growers can integrate their oil palm with other crops continuously, double avenue planting of oil palm was used. However, there is still need to identify the crops suitable for integration. In addition, a good production system for such crops … Read more
The plant canopy temperature provides a measure of the plant response to its environment and has been recognized as a sensitive indicator of plant water status (Jackson et al., 1981; Idso, 1982). The relationships between canopy temperature, air temperature and transpiration depend on atmospheric conditions (vapour pressure deficit, air temperature and wind velocity), the soil … Read more
Termite infestation in oil palm, especially in peat soil, has become a serious problem due to rapid expansion of the industry. Termites were first been reported as an occasional pest on mineral soils. Later, they were documented as a major pest to oil palm on peat (Zulkefli et al., 2000). Many termite species inhabit peat … Read more
With the current labour shortage, to reduce the rounds of fertilizer application, subsoil placement (burying) has attracted much interest, especially in remote areas and on undulating terrain. This is mainly due to the belief that burying the fertilizer is as effective as broadcasting it with reduced run-off losses. Foster and Goh (1975) recommended that fertilizers … Read more
With the current labour shortage in the Malaysian plantation sector, the time spent on collection of loose fruits can have serious repercussions on productivity in the oil palm industry. In fact, as a result of labour shortage, one of the areas most neglected in harvesting is loose fruit collection (Hoong and Donough, 1998) which has … Read more
Vegetative propagation of the oil palm by tissue culture was first described in the 1970s. Since then, the commercial advantage of tissue culture materials over seedlings has been well established. The initial problems or setbacks associated with oil palm tissue culture (for example, flowering abnormalities) have also been minimized by adopting low phytohormone protocols and … Read more