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Biological control agents such as endophytic bacteria have gained significance in suppressing and controlling plant disease. Endophytes have been isolated from several hosts, such as oil palm (Zaiton et al., 2007) and banana (Pan et al., 1997). The capability of colonising host tissue has made endophytic bateria valuable as a tool to improve crop performance. The efficacy … Read more

Biological control is among the options apart from fungicides in controlling phytopathogens. Many species of microorganisms including actinomycetes, bacteria and fungi have the ability to be an effective control agent of plant disease. The use of Strptomyces genus as biological control agent of Ganoderma disease is of interest. The Strptomyces genus in actinomycetes group showed a high inhibition percentage towards Ganoderma boninense in vitro … Read more

Loose fruits are currently collected by hand picking or raking. This technique is not only labour demanding and time-consuming but also tedious. The collection process requires the worker to squat and stand up repeatedly, which cause fatigue. On the average, the time taken for the worker to collect loose fruits is about 28% from the … Read more

It is a challenging to task to evacuate bunches from oil palm planted on peat or soggy areas. Apart from low bearing capacity of the peat, undecomposed or semi-decomposed logs along the harvesting paths require a specially designed vehicle to tackle this problem. The new concept vehicle is specifically built for infield collection on peat … Read more

Despite the advent of technologies, oil palm management often need to spend an average of one week in preparing monthly performance report of their estates (Malek,2002;Paimin,2008). This is essentially an opportunity cost to the managers and supervisors for not attending field operations. More importantly, cost overruns and other operational inefficiencies are only discovered at the … Read more

Bagworms (Lepidoptera:Psychidae) are leaf eating caterpillars characterised by the possession of bag, built from pieces of dried plant materials such as leaves and small twigs ( Barlow,1982). Their outbreak are common in several states in Malaysia and have a significant economic impact on oil palm yield. According to Wood et al. (1973), 43% of yield decline … Read more

The beneficial effects of leguminous cover crops (LCC0 and its use in oil palm plantation are commonly accepted. Besides improving soil fertility by fixing nitrogen and making it available to the main crop and reduce competition from noxious weeds, it also improves palm grwoth and reduces the immaturity period. In peat soil areas, the need … Read more

Nanoemulsions are suitable for the efficient delivery of active ingredients through the skin. The large surface area of the emulsion system allows for the rapid penetration of actives such as vitamins and antioxidants into the skin. The application of nanoemulsions with lipid or non-soluble materials has produced enhanced skin properties. Incorporation of lipophilic materials such … Read more

The oil palm sector represents one of the major industries in Malaysia. The country has been one of the largest producers and exporters of palm oil products in the world. Malaysia is also one of the main producers and exporters of palm kernel products, especially of palm kernel oil and palm kernel cake (PKC). PKC … Read more

Hydrazides are useful compounds having a general formula. They make up a versatile class of nitrogen substituted molecules with a high degree of chemical reactivity. They can be a precursor as well as an intermediate for many important organic molecules. Hydrazides of palm oil contains an amide, an anmmine group and a long-chain alkyl group, R. … Read more