Oil Palm Plantations In Malaysia Research Articles

The Benefits of the Adoption of Smart Agriculture in Oil Palm Estates: A Qualitative Study

Palm oil is an incredibly efficient crop because it is a natural, renewable resource with multiple uses. It is used in food, cosmetics and even biofuel. It is used in food products, detergents, cosmetics and even biofuel. The palm oil industry employs millions of people and is an essential source of income for many developing countries. Smart agriculture is the future for Malaysian oil palm plantations via the adoption of new technology. It will provide a solid foundation for precision agriculture to increase productivity in oil palm production. The purpose of this study is to discover the benefits of smart agriculture in oil palm estates in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain an in-depth understanding of the benefits of the technology in oil palm estate. Interviews were conducted with a total of twelve estate managers and assistant managers of oil palm estates in Malaysia. The interview was transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Based on the findings, the participant mentioned that the use of smart agriculture technology has helped the estate in terms of increasing efficiency, reducing labour use and saving time. Therefore, with these transformative technologies, the oil palm industry will continue to thrive to ensure that this industry remains viable and sustainable.

Transcriptome analysis reveals mechanisms of metabolic detoxification and immune responses following farnesyl acetate treatment in Metisa plana

Metisa plana is a widespread insect pest infesting oil palm plantations in Malaysia. Farnesyl acetate (FA), a juvenile hormone analogue, has been reported to exert in vitro and in vivo insecticidal activity against other insect pests. However, the insecticidal mechanism of FA on M. plana remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to elucidate responsive genes in M. plana in response to FA treatment. The RNA-sequencing reads of FA-treated M. plana were de novo-assembled with existing raw reads from non-treated third instar larvae, and 55,807 transcripts were functionally annotated to multiple protein databases. Several insecticide detoxification-related genes were differentially regulated among the 321 differentially expressed transcripts. Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, carboxylesterase, and ATP-binding cassette protein were upregulated, while peptidoglycan recognition protein was downregulated. Innate immune response genes, such as glutathione S-transferases, acetylcholinesterase, and heat shock protein, were also identified in the transcriptome. The findings signify that changes occurred in the insect’s receptor and signaling, metabolic detoxification of insecticides, and immune responses upon FA treatment on M. plana. This valuable information on FA toxicity may be used to formulate more effective biorational insecticides for better M. plana pest management strategies in oil palm plantations.

Accounting for deep soil carbon in tropical forest conservation payments

Secondary tropical forests are at the forefront of deforestation pressures. They store large amounts of carbon, which, if compensated for to avoid net emissions associated with conversion to non-forest uses, may help advance tropical forest conservation. We measured above- and below-ground carbon stocks down to 1 m soil depth across a secondary forest and in oil palm plantations in Malaysia. We calculated net carbon losses when converting secondary forests to oil palm plantations and estimated payments to avoid net emissions arising from land conversion to a 22-year oil palm rotation, based on land opportunity costs per hectare. We explored how estimates would vary between forests by also extracting carbon stock data for primary forest from the literature. When tree and soil carbon was accounted for, payments of US$18–51 tCO2–1 for secondary forests and US$14–40 tCO2–1 for primary forest would equal opportunity costs associated with oil palm plantations per hectare. If detailed assessments of soil carbon were not accounted for, payments to offset opportunity costs would need to be considerably higher for secondary forests (US$28–80 tCO2–1). These results show that assessment of carbon stocks down to 1 m soil depth in tropical forests can substantially influence the estimated value of avoided-emission payments.

Plantation Technologies

In this article we investigate plantation agriculture as a technology aimed at extracting natural resources, utilising unpaid labour, and installing regulatory authority. Using the oil palm plantation territories of Johor State in Malaysia – a core zone of palm oil production, manufacturing and export – as a case study, we ask how more-than-human assemblages enabled the expansion and refinement of oil palm plantations in Malaysia and contributed to the material transformation of the territory. We also explore how plantations can be mobilised as an analytical device to study the urbanisation of territory through agro-industrial production. To explore those questions, we present three episodes of more-than-human involvement in assembling oil palm plantation territories in Johor. Through the conceptual frame of the operationalisation of territory, we bring into dialogue literature on the Plantationocene with critical urban studies and the history of urbanisation.

EFFECTIVENESS OF DRONE SPRAYING TO CONTROL BAGWORM OUTBREAK

Outbreaks of the bagworm Metisa plana often occur in Malaysian oil palm plantations. Given the complexities of the M. plana lifecycle, the high cost of lower-toxicity chemical pesticides, and the labour shortage, the application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, was used, as it is more practical at a commercial scale. In July 2022, FGVPM Besout 6 and Besout 7, with a total planting area of 2 110.20 and 2 737.30 ha, respectively, experienced massive M. plana infestations with a total outbreak area of 622.50 ha (29.50%) and 650.00 ha (23.75%), respectively. Within five days, drones equipped with fan nozzles for spraying flubendiamide insecticide at a rate of 36 L per hectare were able to combat the infestation. Water-sensitive paper was set up to ensure the droplet distribution met the standard operating procedure requirement. ImageJ analysis confirmed the sprayed coverage area was excellent, especially on the upper frond. At 30 days after spraying (DAS), the number of live M. plana individuals per frond dropped to zero compared to the non-treated area, which counted 82.50 M. plana. The effectiveness of spraying is supported by its high productivity as compared to the conventional approach of trunk injection. The results demonstrated that with the right dosage of pesticides, drone spraying with proper specification is more feasible, affordable, saves time, and has been proven to be efficient for M. plana treatment on a commercial scale. Keywords: Unmanned aerial vehicle, drone, oil palm, precision agriculture, bagworm Metisa plana.

Molecular Cloning and Expression Analysis of CONSTANS-LIKE 2 in Mucuna bracteata in Different Tissues and at Low Temperature

Mucuna bracteata is a leguminous cover crop that is planted in Malaysian oil palm and rubber plantations. This legume can grow well locally but is unable to produce flowers. Non-flowering M. bracteata plants presumably do not perceive the flowering signals to initiate the reproductive phase due to environmental differences. This study is on cloning a putative flowering gene, CONSTANS-LIKE 2 (COL2), from leaves of M. bracteata. To understand the molecular regulation of this gene in locally grown M. bracteata, we analysed its expression profile in different tissues of M. bracteata seedlings and response to low temperature using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The MbCOL2 gene was identified to be expressed in all selected tissues; leaf, terminal bud and stem of 2 months, 6 months and 12 months-old seedlings in different patterns. The MbCOL2 expression was the highest in the leaf tissue. Meanwhile, the expression of MbCOL2 was increased due to the low temperature. Physicochemical properties of MbCOL2 and its orthologues were also defined to analyse their protein functional properties. Outputs from this study can assist to better understand the molecular regulation of growth and development in M. bracteata.

Exploring the challenges faced by female executives in the Malaysian oil palm plantation industry: a qualitative study

Study regarding the life experiences of female executive planters in Malaysia's oil palm plantation sector is sparse. This gap is significant as Malaysia's plantation sector is beginning to hire more female employees, especially at the executive levels such as assistant manager and estate manager posts. Female employees account for 20-25% of the total plantation workforce in Malaysia, according to major palm oil companies. Despite their significant contribution and role in an oil palm plantation, females’ efforts have been overshadowed by their male colleagues. This raises the question of why this situation occurs and how it affects female executive planters in Malaysian oil palm plantations. Hence, this research aimed to establish and assess the individual experiences of female executive planters. The focus will be on the current situation of female executives in the oil palm plantation industry, together with the challenges faced by female executives when working in the oil palm plantation industry. A qualitative study was conducted with eight female executive planters who participate in the oil palm plantation industry in Peninsular Malaysia to identify their life experiences, assess the current situation, and explore the challenges faced working as executive planters in the oil palm plantation industry in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from the participants using the snowball sampling method based on the availability of female executive planters in Peninsular Malaysia. The data were analysed using Thematic Analysis (TA) and categorized into six themes. The analysis revealed that their current situation and challenges were associated with job nature, acceptance, physical work, safety, managing worker, and stereotypes. These findings were expected to have significant information to add to the literature on female roles and their participation in the oil palm plantation industry. Thus, it can help to formulate plans to enhance the situation for the female executive planter in the oil palm plantation industry in the future.

IOI’S EXPERIENCE OF TRANSLOCATING EASTERN BARN OWLS FROM PENINSULAR MALAYSIA TO SABAH

The eastern barn owl (Tyto javanica javanica) has proven to be an effective biological control agent for rodent pest populations in Malaysian oil palm plantations. To establish self-sustaining populations of barn owls in areas where their numbers are low or absent, a translocation programme was implemented. This paper discusses the process of translocating barn owls from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah. The study provides valuable insights into the factors that contribute to the success of translocation programmes, such as careful planning, monitoring, and preparation, including the construction of an aviary, installation of barn owl boxes, and adherence to export and import procedures, permit applications, and quarantine processes for barn owls from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah based on IOI’s perspective and experience. Overall, the translocation of barn owls to Sabah is a commendable initiative that not only helps conserve this natural pest controller but also demonstrates the feasibility of translocation as a means of species conservation. Keywords: Barn owl, biological control, translocation, permit application, import-export process.

Review on socioeconomic and sustainability of oil palm plantations among rural communities in Malaysia

Malaysian oil palm plantations contributed 2.7% of Malaysian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020 and became the world’s second largest producer of palm oil after Indonesia. Unfortunately, the expansion of oil palm plantations has always been linked to deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil erosion. Despite the negative environmental repercussions, there is no denying that the rapid expansion of oil palm plantations has had beneficial social and economic impacts. Therefore, in this study, researchers aim to review recent studies on the socioeconomic impacts of oil palm plantations in Malaysia for the last decade (2012 – 2022). This study also identifies challenges faced by rural communities who are participated in oil palm cultivation. Since this is a conceptual paper, secondary sources, such as research articles, government reports, and published research works, are used in this study. We employed desktop study method to search the academic papers and reports from online databases. Most the papers agreed that land development for oil palm enhances socioeconomic levels, especially among rural communities by providing job opportunities, creating small businesses, reducing poverty, and improving their livelihoods. However, the involvement of farmers and planters in oil palm downstream activities and multiple crop cultivation remains low since small-scale farmers highly depend on selling fresh fruit bunches (FFB) to get their income. The drop in crude palm oil prices because of the international market has severely affected oil palm smallholders’ income. Most of previous research also believed sustainable oil palm plantation helps smallholders improve their socioeconomic conditions. The authorities may also make more efforts to promote sustainable plantations, especially among smallholders.

Behavioural Impacts of Workers on Performance: The Case of Malaysian Oil Palm Plantation

Malaysia is the second world’s largest oil palm producer after Indonesia, accounting for about 30% of the total producers. The palm oil industry also contributed significantly to the Malaysian economy as the highest contributor to the national gross domestic product (GDP) for the agriculture sector. As a huge industry in Malaysia, the palm oil industry relies heavily on workers because of the manual activities that require them to execute, like harvesting and collecting fresh fruit bunches (FFB). At the plantation level, dealing with a group of workers can be challenging owing to various issues related to workers’ behaviour such as workers’ efficacy, initiative, motivation, dependability, and cooperativeness. Recognising workers’ behaviour is vital because it will impact how well the plantation performs. Thus, this study aimed to examine the impacts of workers’ behaviour on Malaysian oil palm plantation performance. A structured questionnaire was used during in-depth interviews with 83 Malaysian oil palm plantation executive staff using simple random sampling method. The data were analysed using descriptive analysis, mean ranking analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that workers’ efficacy, initiative, motivation, dependability, and cooperativeness significantly impact the performance of Malaysian oil palm plantations. From all five variables, motivation was the most significant predictor identified as the highest contributing factor that impacted the Malaysian oil palm plantation’s performance. The findings showed an important indication that the plantations need to acknowledge and handle their workers’ behaviour to achieve greater performance. The framework of this research can be extended to the oil palm smallholders to capture the overall scenario of the palm oil industry players and their contribution to the Malaysian economy.

Methanogenic archaea community in relation to methane production in oil palm planted on tropical peatland

Understanding the microbial processes that regulate methane emissions in the tropical peatlands can facilitate their future management. However, the microbiota of Malaysian tropical peatlands specifically the methanogens (methane producers) and methanotrophs (methane consumers) remains poorly characterised. This study aimed to determine the key players in methane production and to assess their spatial distribution in different oil palm management zones (i.e., avenue, cover crop, frond pile, and weeded circle) across depths namely 0–15 cm, 15–30 cm, and 30–45 cm in an 11-year-old oil palm plantation that was established on the peatland of Sarawak. Based on high-throughput Illumina sequencing targeting the 16S hypervariable V4–V5 regions of archaeal rRNA amplicon, the diversity indices (Shannon and Simpson) and richness (Chao1 and ACE) were highest in the upper peat layers across management zones, and the microbial diversity and composition are influenced by depths. Taxonomic profiling revealed that the domain Archaea was dominated by Halobacteriota, Thermoproteota, and Thermoplasmatota that increased with depth across management zones. Meanwhile, the order Methanomassiliicoccales was predominant, with Methanomethylophilus sp002495325 as the most abundant species in the upper peat layers in the frond pile zone due to a high decomposition rate of organic matter. The key players of methanogenic archaea belonging to Methanomassiliicoccales, Methanosarcinales, Methanomicrobiales, and Methanobacteriales were detected in oil palm peat soils, providing indirect genetic evidence for the biogeochemical processes associated with methane production in the oil palm plantation. Having established the feasibility of utilising high-throughput sequencing to characterise the archaeome of Malaysian oil palm plantation, future works in correlating the relative abundance of methanogens and methanotrophs with methane production will be instrumental in providing valuable insights for prediction and mitigation of methane emissions in oil palm cultivation on peat.

Impact Comparison of El Niño and Ageing Crops on Malaysian Oil Palm Yield.

Ageing oil palm crops show a significant correlation with the declining oil palm yield in Malaysia. Not only do aged crops result in lower production, but they are also more costly and difficult to harvest. The Malaysian oil palm yield recovered to the pre-El Niño level after the 1997/98 El Niño event. However, the oil palm yield failed to recover after the recent 2015/16 El Niño. Due to the accumulation of aged oil palm plantations in Malaysia, the financial losses from different magnitudes of El Niño events are increasing. Thirty-four years of monthly oil palm yield trends in Malaysia were compared with the El Niño-free yield dataset to show that the oil palm yield downtrend pattern is the same with or without El Niño events in Malaysia for the most recent 15 years (2005 to 2019). The performance of oil palm yield did not show any significant difference from 2000 to 2019. This study estimates that ageing oil palms would lead to a minimum opportunity loss of USD 431 million by December 2022. Without a proper replanting program, the total combined loss attributable to the ageing crops from 2009 to 2022 is estimated to be USD 3.94 billion, which is more profound than losses due to El Niño events within the same period. This study also concluded that a continuous 7-year replanting scheme of at least 115,000 hectares per year is needed to address the adverse impact of ageing crops on the Malaysian oil palm yield, which accounts for nearly 30% of the global palm oil production.

Ground based thermographic screening of bagworm (<em>Metisa plana</em> Walker) infestation in oil palm and identification of their growth stages

Bagworms (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) are one of the main species of vicious leaf-eating insect pests that affects oil palm plantations in Malaysia. A moderate bagworm attack of 10-50% leaf damage may cause 43% yield loss. In 2020, the economic loss due to the bagworm attack in Malaysia is estimated as RM 180 million. Hence, it is necessary to monitor closely the bagworm outbreak in infested areas. However, precise data collection with accuracy is a challenging task. In this context, we explored the possibility of using thermal infrared (TIR) cameras (T 440) for detection of bagworms and identification of bagworm growth stages at the infested areas for effective monitoring. The reflector method was applied to detect the reflected apparent temperature and emissivity of the bagworms using thermographic measurement techniques. The results have revealed that the bagworms from the 1st to 7th larval instar and pupal stages exhibit emissivity values ranging from 0.88 to 0.89. Two rounds of our observation have shown that the bagworms can be detected during evening and afternoon vision as compared to night, midnight and morning vision, with consideration of emissivity, solar radiation, and snapshot distance at a percentage accuracy of 74 and 85%, respectively. The classification of the larval and pupal stages was carried out by grouping the larval and pupal stages based on their real size; Group I: larval stage 1-3, Group II: larval stage 4-7; and Group III: pupal stage. Identification of the bagworm stages according to the classified group and the object led to differentiation between the larval stages from Gr. I, II, and III, with the per cent detection of 60, 84 and 89%, respectively. The results indicate that the thermographic imaging approach can be applied to detect bagworms, provided all conditions and time observation are taken into consideration. This thermographic technique deserves thorough testing and optimization for detection of bagworms in oil palm plantations.

Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic for the Education of Children of Indonesian Migrant Workers on the Sebatik Island Border

Schools in border areas are threatened with closure due to the difficulty of organizing learning in the midst of a pandemic. This paper portrays this reality by describing the learning process of a border school (Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Darul Furqon) on Sebatik Island (the Indonesia-Malaysia border) during the COVID-19 pandemic. School is the foundation for the children of Indonesian migrant workers who work in Malaysian oil palm plantations. Therefore, this research applied a case study approach using qualitative research with the unit of analysis being families of Indonesian migrant workers who send their children to border schools. The results showed that learning activities in border schools can be facilitated through both online and offline learning. However, students often cannot attend lessons because of the lack of guidance from parents who are busy working as palm oil workers. Learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has also caused student interest to decline and has triggered an increase in school dropouts. Student education during the pandemic is viewed as free time to help parents earn extra income.
 Keywords: school, COVID-19, Sebatik, borderland

Molecular Identification and Genetic Variation of Rattus Species From Oil Palm Plantations of Malaysia Based on Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I (COI) Gene Sequences.

Rats (Rattus species) are the most notorious vertebrate pests in Malaysian oil palm plantations. Although many studies have been conducted on Asian rats, little attention has been paid to their species composition and phylogenetic relationships in oil palm plantations in Peninsular Malaysia. We determined the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequence (708 bp) for 216 individual rats collected from five oil palm plantations in Peninsular Malaysia. Phylogenetic analysis in conjunction with comparison with sequences from the nucleotide sequence database revealed five distinct lineages in the Malaysian oil plantations: Rattus tiomanicus, Rattus argentiventer, Rattus exulans, Rattus tanezumi, and a taxon corresponding to the Malayan house rat, which was most frequently observed (∼50%). The last taxon has traditionally been classified as a synonym of Rattus rattus (Rattus rattus diardii) or Rattus tanezumi, but our phylogenetic analysis placed it as an independent lineage, which is not particularly closely related to R. rattus or R. tanezumi, and which we refer to as Rattus diardii. The construction of the network showed that there is considerable genetic variation within the lineages of R. diardii and R tiomanicus, suggesting that these two species are native to the Malay Peninsula.

A Cost-Effective Novel Biochemical Fertilizer for Better Managing Nutrient Levels and Vegetative Growth in the Immature Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)

The oil palm (OP) Elaeis guineensis is a robust feeder of nutrients and necessitates the adjustment and adequate allocation of nutrients for optimum growth and yields. Therefore, information on leaf nutrient concentrations during the immature stage is essential for maximal OP yield at the mature stage. Currently, in Malaysia, fertilizer by the standard practice application (Treatment 1; T1) is considered a cost-effective fertilization practice in terms of fertilization cost and the overall cost per palm oil tree per hectare. However, there is an idea to further reduce the costs of fertilizers and labour per hectare to make it more cost-effective. Therefore, the present study aims to develop a novel biochemical fertilizer by testing the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) biochemical fertilizer (Treatment 2; T2) in the immature OP. Since the use of T1 has been well established in Malaysia, the present study is to compare the leaflets’ nutrient levels (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), and boron (B)) and vegetative parameters (frond length (FL), frond number of leaves (FNL), frond width (FW), frond thickness (FT), chlorophyll index (CI), and the canopy of immature OP by using T2 to compare with those in T1. This study was conducted 6 to 48 months after planting (MAP) at the Telang OP plantation, Kuala Lipis (Pahang), from January 2015 to December 2018. Based on the chemical levels of the pre-treatment soil samples collected at the weeded circle area in January 2015 in the two depths (0–15 cm and 15–30 cm), there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in all 11 chemical parameters (pH, total N, organic carbon (Org C), total P, available P (Av P), cation exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable K, (Ex K), exchangeable Ca (Ex Ca), exchangeable Mg (Ex Mg), exchangeable aluminium (Ex Al) and B between T1 and T2. This indicated that the chemical levels in the OP soils in both T1 and T2 would not be significant factors when T1 and T2 were applied. All six leaflets’ nutrient levels showed at least ‘Optimum’ or ‘Excessive’ compared to the established guideline using T1 and T2. Overall, there was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in all the above six leaflets’ nutrient levels and six vegetative parameters between T1 and T2 based on the t-Test, multiple linear stepwise regression analysis, and correlation analysis. These results suggested that rates of T1 and T2 applied in this study are enough to provide the amount of nutrients needed to support the OP vegetative growth during the immature period. The estimated cost savings for the combination of T2 fertilizers per hectare (RM 1113.43 or 250 USD) and reduction of the number of rounds (RM 133.85; or 30 USD) of T2 fertilizer application would give a sum of total cost savings of at least RM 1247.25 (280 USD) per hectare. If only based on the T2 fertilizer per hectare, the economic benefit of the total cost saving is estimated to be at least 10.6%. In summary, this study recommends the utilization of T2 as a novel, cost-effective, and alternative biochemical fertilizer treatment for better management of immature OP plantations in Malaysia.

A Four Stage Image Processing Algorithm for Detecting and Counting of Bagworm, Metisa plana Walker (Lepidoptera: Psychidae)

The bagworm is a vicious leaf eating insect pest that threatens the oil palm plantations in Malaysia. The economic impact from defoliation of approximately 10% to 13% due to bagworm attack might cause about 33% to 40% yield loss over 2 years. Due to this, monitoring and detecting of bagworm populations in oil palm plantations is required as the preliminary steps to ensure proper planning of control actions in these areas. Hence, the development of an image processing algorithm for detection and counting of Metisa plana Walker, a species of Malaysia’s local bagworm, using image segmentation has been researched and completed. The color and shape features from the segmented images for real time object detection showed an average detection accuracy of 40% and 34%, at 30 cm and 50 cm camera distance, respectively. After some improvements on training dataset and marking detected bagworm with bounding box, a deep learning algorithm with Faster Regional Convolutional Neural Network (Faster R-CNN) algorithm was applied leading to the percentage of the detection accuracy increased up to 100% at a camera distance of 30 cm in close conditions. The proposed solution is also designed to distinguish between the living and dead larvae of the bagworms using motion detection which resulted in approximately 73–100% accuracy at a camera distance of 30 cm in the close conditions. Through false color analysis, distinct differences in the pixel count based on the slope was observed for dead and live pupae at 630 nm and 940 nm, with the slopes recorded at 0.38 and 0.28, respectively. The higher pixel count and slope correlated with the dead pupae while the lower pixel count and slope, represented the living pupae.

Circular Economy and Industry 4.0 Technology Integration Framework for the Oil Palm Industry

Palm oil is a sustainable resource with high potential to substitute fossil fuels as the raw material for cleaner energy and chemical production. The oil palm industry is highly dependent on manual labour operation, especially its upstream operation, i.e., plantation. With the rapid development of process automation, robotic, internet-of-things (IoT) and big data analysis, adaptation of Industry Revolution 4.0 (IR4) has proven to be a great strategy to improve process efficiency. Each of the IR4 component/technology may be integrated for its specific feature, such as robotic drone with artificial intelligence data analysis to process captured image. Such technology could be further upgraded with more IR4 technologies integration. This paper proposes a novel circular economy framework to evaluate the potential of implementing IR4 technologies in the oil palm industry. Upon identify viable IR4 technologies for the industry, the cost of investment between the new and existing technologies were compared. Return on investment (ROI) and capital investment were used as the selection criteria to assist the palm oil stakeholders in the decision-making process. Graphical pinch analysis tool is adapted to identify an optimum solution. A case study involving oil palm plantation in Malaysia is analysed. An investment on spray drone for pesticide application was proven to have higher ROI, as compared to the spray tractor and existing practise of using knapsack sprayer. While another drone application for tree health and fruit monitoring has a positive ROI too, it is not possible to invest in both technologies due to budget limitation. Based on circular economy concept, investment into the spray drone and modified drone with smart spectrometer for tree health and fruit monitoring are better strategies to minimise IR4 investment.

Aerobic Methanotrophy and Co-occurrence Networks of a Tropical Rainforest and Oil Palm Plantations in Malaysia

Oil palm (OP) plantations are gradually replacing tropical rainforest in Malaysia, one of the largest palm oil producers globally. Conversion of lands to OP plantations has been associated with compositional shifts of the microbial community, with consequences on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While the impact of the change in land use has recently been investigated for microorganisms involved in N2O emission, the response of the aerobic methanotrophs to OP agriculture remains to be determined. Here, we monitored the bacterial community composition, focusing on the aerobic methanotrophs, in OP agricultural soils since 2012, 2006, and 1993, as well as in a tropical rainforest, in 2019 and 2020. High-affinity methane uptake was confirmed, showing significantly lower rates in the OP plantations than in the tropical rainforest, but values increased with continuous OP agriculture. The bacterial, including the methanotrophic community composition, was modified with ongoing OP agriculture. The methanotrophic community composition was predominantly composed of unclassified methanotrophs, with the canonical (Methylocystis) and putative methanotrophs thought to catalyze high-affinity methane oxidation present at higher relative abundance in the oldest OP plantation. Results suggest that the methanotrophic community was relatively more stable within each site, exhibiting less temporal variations than the total bacterial community. Uncharacteristically, a 16S rRNA gene-based co-occurrence network analysis revealed a more complex and connected community in the OP agricultural soil, which may influence the resilience of the bacterial community to disturbances. Overall, we provide a first insight into the ecology and role of the aerobic methanotrophs as a methane sink in OP agricultural soils.

Palm Oil Industries in Malaysia and Possible Treatment Technologies for Palm Oil Mill Effluent: A Review

Palm oil industries have become the main sector to boost the economic revenue in tropical countries, especially in South East Asia. In the recent years, the global production of palm oil reached 72 million metric tons in 2018, increasing from about 68 million metric tons in 2017. During that period, Malaysia is currently the second world producer of palm oil after neighbouring country Indonesia. Both countries are the leading exporters of palm oil with 84 % of worldwide production. A detailed analysis of the palm oil business in Malaysia, the environmental issues that have arisen, and the treatment technology used to effectively treat palm oil mill wastewater are reviewed to gain an understanding of environmental sustainability. In Malaysia, most of the oil palm plantations are owned by private conglomerates (61 %), followed by the independent smallholders (16 %), the Federal Land Development Authority (13 %), state agencies (6 %), the Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (3 %), and Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (1 %). However, the rate of deforestation has increased due to the expansion of oil palm plantations in Malaysia. Palm oil mill effluent is also considered as one of the major environmental issues since it reduces the water quality index. Some techniques are implemented to treat palm oil mill effluent, such as anaerobic ponding systems, integrated anaerobic-aerobic bioreactors, coagulation and flocculation, thermochemical treatment, vermicomposting, membrane filtration, photocatalysis, moving bed biofilm reactors, and zero liquid discharge. Zero liquid discharge method is considered an appropriate method since this method provides a better waste recovery.