8 Weeks Old Nursery
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| Getting ready for transplanting |
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| 8 Weeks Old Oil Palm-beginning to produce 3 leafs. |
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| Add caption |
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
MGRC, Felda create breakthrough on oil palm fungal disease latest!
Th Borneo Post
Posted on June 14, 2011, Tuesday
POTENTIAL LOSS: According to MGRC, with total oil palm area of 4.85 million hectares, a potential 30 per cent to 70 per cent loss of oil palm due to BSR has substantial implications to planting resources and revenue in Malaysia.
KUCHING: Scientists and research groups can now obtain vital information on the Ganoderma Basal Stem-Rot (BSR) fungal disease following the success of Malaysian Genomics Resource Centre Bhd (MGRC) in completing the sequencing and assembly of the Ganoderma boninense fungus genome. The latest breakthrough by MGRC was made possible through a joint-effort with Felda Agricultural Services Sdn Bhd (FAS).
Ganoderma BSR is a major concern in Malaysia as palm oil is a major bulk export. In 2010, the export earnings from oil palm products reached RM59.77 billion. With total oil palm area of 4.85 million hectares, a potential 30 to 70 per cent loss of oil palm due to BSR has substantial implications to planting resources and revenue.
The sequence data from the Ganoderma genome will be made available to the public at MGRC’s website, www.mgrc.com.my — making it the first company in the world, together with Felda, to offer this information for free to the global scientific community. The cost of sequencing and assembly for the Ganoderma genome was borne by MGRC as part of its corporate responsibility activities.
Ganoderma fungal invasion is one of the most serious biological threats to the oil palm industry and its sustainability in Malaysia and Indonesia. Causing basal stem rot in oil palm trees, the Ganoderma fungus has a massive impact on the life-span of affected trees and dramatically affects both fruit quality and yield.
MGRC chief scientific officer Dr Stephen Rudd said, “By sharing the Ganoderma genome with the wider scientific community, we hope to accelerate R&D towards a solution for the oil palm industry. While MGRC will continue to analyse the genome of this deadly fungus to obtain in-depth genetic information, we hope that a community effort will produce faster results than one group of scientists going at it alone.
“With access to data from the Ganoderma genome, research groups will be empowered with the much-needed information, boosting efforts in finding a remedy for the spread of the disease,” he added.
The CEO of FAS, S Palaniappan added, “It is essential that we have a total understanding of Ganoderma – from how it survives and spreads to its genetic information. Felda is proud to collaborate with MGRC in the hope of accelerating effective solutions for the industry to benefit from.”
Friday, June 10, 2011
More automation planned for Ta Ann’s oil palm estates
Posted on May 28, 2011, Saturday
LARGER CONTRIBUTION: Wong says the fresh fruit bunch production in 2010 was 30 per cent higher at 310,870 tonnes, from 238,632 tonnes recorded in 2009, and had contributed to 75 per cent increase in revenue.
SIBU: Sarawak oil palm and timber giant, Ta Ann Holdings Bhd (Ta Ann), is planning for more automation of its oil palm estates to counter labour shortage.
At present, a mechanical infield fruit collection system is used on two of its 14 plantations, said group managing director/chief executive officer Datuk Wong Kuo Hea.
The public-listed company would pursue this direction, among many other action plans, this year to improve its bottomline, he said in the company’s annual report for the financial year ended December 31, 2010.
Wong also said TA Ann targeted to plant 8,000 hectares with oil palm, this year, besides planning the building of a second crude oil palm mill.
The group’s land bank currently stood at 66,681 hectares, of which, 28,729 hectares were already developed while 17,476 hectares were matured.
He added that fresh fruit bunch production in 2010 was 30 per cent higher at 310,870 tonnes, from 238,632 tonnes recorded in 2009, and had contributed to 75 per cent increase in revenue.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Felcra plays its role in Sarawak
By JACK WONG
jackwong@thestar.com.my
KUCHING: Sarawak has roped in Felcra Bhd to open up 10,000ha native customary rights (NCR) land for oil palm cultivation under a new development model.
State Land Development Minister Datuk Dr James Masing said Felcra would provide grants and soft loans to this pilot project in Passai Siong in Sibu Division, central Sarawak.
“As a government-linked company (GLC), Felcra will come in with grants and soft loans to fund the project,” he told StarBizWeek yesterday, adding that the agreement with Felcra was reached two weeks ago.
Masing said as the Federal Government was providing funding via Felcra for NCR land development for the first time, this would make the plantation venture more attractive and profitable to the landowners.
He said 90% of the profits from the project would be shared by the landowners while the remaining 10% would go to state Land Custody Development Authority (LCDA), the project's managing agent.
Felcra, which owns about 50,000ha oil palm plantation in Sarawak, will manage this pilot project with a fee.
“The 10,000ha is expected to be planted in the next two to three years,” said Masing.
To accelerate the development of large tracts idle or under-developed NCR land into oil palm estates, the Sarawak government introduced a new development concept several years ago that involves joint venture between the landowners and private investors.
The investors provide project funding while the LCDA acts as managing agent in these joint ventures to protect the landowners' interests.
Under this model, Masing said several plantation companies had cultivated oil palm on some 50,000ha NCR land although more land should have been opened up.
Masing said about 200,000ha NCR land and another 500,000ha state land had been earmarked for oil palm projects. Sarawak has some 1.5 million ha of NCR land, mostly without titles.
He said the ongoing NCR land perimeter survey, a state-Federal government initiative, would enable claimants to secure land ownership faster.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak approved RM20mil last year to carry out the survey via a two-step process with two deliverables.
First, the state government would identify NCR land in all divisions for en-bloc perimeter survey by the Land and Survey Department to segregate genuine NCR land from state land. The land will then be gazetted as native communal reserves that ensure claimants of their ownership within the gazetted area.
The second stage will require the NCR landowners themselves to sort out and agree on the boundaries of their land within the gazetted area to enable the department to carry out detailed survey, and subsequently issue individual land titles to them.
Masing said once the titles were issued, the NCR land would become an economic asset.
He said his ministry was streamlining the procedures to make it faster for oil palm joint-venture projects to be implemented. “We have endorsed a new timetable, from the time landowners ask us to develop their NCR land to actual planting, to within 18 months from the present 36 months.”
As the ministry was bogged down by red tapes and manpower constraints, it was slow to create landbank for planting and execute joint-venture agreements.
Due to these shortcomings, the state government's target to expand oil palm estates to one million ha by last year could not be met. Only more than 900,000ha was planted.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
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