TT

Interest in biological control has increased considerably in respone to the various effects of pesticides on the environment. Boilogical control favours conservation and the sustainable use of biological resources. Mass rearing and release of natural enemies are needed to attain sufficiently low pest populations. Oftern the success of biological control through an increased release of … Read more

Termites can be a serious threat to oil palm grown on peat, particularly during the early development of the crop. The common control method against termites is by the use of chemicals. Chlorprifos and fipronil are the most widely used insecticides for termite management (Zulkefli, 2007). Chemical spraying onto palm trunks up to the shoots … Read more

Basal stem rot (BSR) disease in oil palm, caused by Ganoderma species, is considered the most destructive disease in the oil palm industry in Southeast Asia. The efficacy of bacteria from the genera Pseudomonas and Burkholderia in controling Ganoderma boninse has been reported. Maizatul and Idris (2009) reported that a pure culture of the endophytic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae, also … Read more

Advantage in biotechnology have led to a significant increase in the use of microbes as biological control agents for plant pathogens. Relatively few of these microbes have been commercialised as bio-control agents due to their inconsistent performance in the field, interactions with non-target organisms, varying rhizosphere or soil colonisation by the bio-control agent, problems in … Read more

Marker-assisted selection (MAS) is the selection of desirable genotypes in conventional breeding using DNA-based diagnostic tools. By applying MAS, palms with the desired genotype can be differentiated early by their DNA, even before the characteristic trait can manifest itself visually. The availability of genetic maps, on which DNA markers such as Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs) … Read more

Carotenoids are a group of isoprenoid pigments which are widely distributed in nature. They are synthesized by all photosynnthetic bacteria and fungi. Carotenoids protect the photosynthetic apparatus from photo-oxidation, and represent structural components of light-harvesting antenna and reaction-centre complexes. Dietary carotenoids fulfil essential requirements for human and animal nutrition. B-carotene is the most potent dietary … Read more

Modification of carotenoid content especially towards increasing lycopene content is one of the main targets of the oil palm genetic engineering programme at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) (Parveez et al., 2003). This is due to the potential nutraceutical properties of lycopene. It has been shown that this carotenoid has the greatest ability of … Read more

Modulating endogenous levels and/or production of novel fatty acid of oils has gained significant attention in recent years due to the increasing awareness by consumers of the impact that dietary lipids have on health. Commodity palm oil is composed of four main fatty acid: palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid. The percentage … Read more

Fertiliser is an important input in oil palm plantations, and has to be managed efficiency depends on the source type of fertiliser, method of placement, rate, frequency and timing of application. Previous work shows that application of fertiliser by general broadcast on clear-weeded circles, over the frond stack and outside the edge of the palm … Read more

The vermicomposting process has been described as the bio-oxidation and stabilisation of ooranic materials involving the hoint actions of earthworms and microorganisms (Aira et al., 2002). In contrast to traditional compost, vermicompost never heats up much above the ambient temperature. Many practitioners combine the two techniques, initially doung a partial pre-composting at high temperatures, followed … Read more