Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)
Sustainable agriculture is a system that can evolve indefinitely towards greater human utility, efficient use of resources, balanced with an environment which is favourable to humans and most other species. One of the ways to encourage sustainability in agriculture is by encouraging innovations. These include innovation in new and more efficient plant and animal breeds […]
Malaysia is blessed with a tropical climate that is conducive for the growth of many commercially viable crops like oil palm, rubber, cocoa and pepper. For over 50 years now, agriculture has played a very significant role in the development of the nation’s economy. However, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is predicting […]
An attempt was made to quantify the dry matter production and nutrient uptake by PS1 oil palm planting materials during the immature stage. The results show that at 43 months after planting, the total fresh and dry weights of PS1 were 22.50% and 6% higher respectively as compared to the commercial DxP, but the differences […]
Near infra-red spectroscopy (NIR) is a rapid technique to detect adulteration of crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) by palm oil products and by-products if the level of adulteration is more than 10%. Below this, the technique can detect scavenger, alcohol bottom, ester bottom or soap stock contamination. Determination of solid fat content (SFC) by pulsed […]
Since the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the early 19th century, man has started to pollute the environment. This was accelerated after the Second World War when synthetic materials began to appear. The production of these materials and other new inventions that greatly impact on the socio-economic conditions of the populace also greatly accelerated […]
In recent years, there has been a tremendous renewal of interest in incorporating the N-fixing creeping legume, Mucuna bracteata, in the oil palm production system. Although a considerable amount of work has been done on M. bracteata, the N-fixing capacity of this legume has not been fully studied. Hence, an experiment using the 15N isotopic […]
Crude glycerol is the primary by-product of the biodiesel industry and too costly to purify it into a higher quality product. However, glycerol can be converted into other useful products used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries such as trimethylene glycol (1,3-propanediol), propylene glycol (1,2-propanediol), ethylene glycol and ethanol through the hydrogenation process and the […]
Surges in fertilizer prices in recent years have led to a sudden increase in the production cost of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) of oil palm as the share of fertilizer cost in the overall field cost has escalated from 30%-35% in 2007 to as high as 50% in 2008. This phenomenon created concerns among industry […]
Emerging technological knowledge is leading into new ventures. One such of these is the conversion of vegetable oils to polymers to augment the use of petroleum products as the source of polymeric raw materials. Vegetable oils, such as palm oil and soyabean oil, now mainly used in the food industry, could offer alternative applications for […]
Aerial spraying with a Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) product in Estate A resulted in 50% reduction of the Pteroma pendula population by 30 days after treatment (DAT). In Estate B, the bagworm population was completely under control whilst at Estate C, bagworm larval instars decreased by 90% from 0 to 30 DAT. The Bt aerial spray […]