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The widespread concern about the devastating impact of climate change, especially in the agricultural sector, has become severe. This paper aims to explore and predict the impact of climate change on oil palm production using future climate conditions projected by the National Water Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM). An error correction model (ECM) and autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL) cointegration approach were applied to assess the short-run and long-run impact of climate change on oil palm production. The estimated short-run coefficients disclosed that the oil palm own price and fertilizer use positively affected oil palm production in the second lag period, and increased acreage benefited oil palm production in the long run. The rainfall variable negatively affected the second lag period but positively rose oil palm production in the long run. The results of forecasting analysis revealed that SN1 (minimum climate variability), SN2 (maximum climate variability), and SN3 (average climate variability) would increase oil palm production by 5%, 1%, and 2%, respectively. Meanwhile, the oil palm yield would rise from 16.73 t/ha in 2020 to 16.89 t/ha in 2030 under SN1. However, with maximum rainfall, the yield would drop to 16.41 t/ha in 2030. Overall, climate change would likely reduce oil palm yield. This research could serve as empirical guides for policymakers and oil palm stakeholders in terms of practical and policy implications to adapt to climate change-related risks and uncertainties. The practical cover investments in technologies, such as developing drought-tolerant and early-maturity crop varieties, boosting water saving, and reducing evapotranspiration.

Excessive fertilizer applications in oil palm plantations are conventionally done to increase the oil yield, but they result in high production cost and environmental pollution. There have been only separate reports on the effects of fertilizer application on soil physical, chemical characteristics, and microbial biodiversity. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the correlation between soil characteristics and soil microbial biodiversity in oil palm plantation after long-term frequent chemical fertilizer application compared with secondary soil, using molecular methods of polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and MiSeq. Secondary forest soil was chosen as the control. The results showed that after 25 years of fertilizer application, the total nitrogen and organic carbon contents decreased from low to very low scale, indicating soil infertility condition. Reduction of Firmicutes was related to suppression of soil borne diseases, and Bacteroidetes which is an indicator of soil health were both almost eliminated after 25 years of fertilizer application. In conclusion, long-term inorganic fertilizer application reduced the soil nitrogen, and organic carbon, altered beneficial microbes in the soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palm oil cultivation since the 1990s has re-formed the soil and water properties to comply with cultivation to serve as an important commodity in Malaysia, which contributes significantly to the growth of the economy. Hence, the purpose of this study is to identify the status of peat soil fertility and its characteristics and to measure the water parameters and quality level at selected sampling sites at the district of Mukah, Sarawak. A total of twelve sampling sites were selected based on its suitability to gain the information needed. The highest soil pH value was (4.2 - SI) The maximum soil humidity is (90.1%-S2), and most of the soil texture is silt loam. The highest nutrient concentration in soil fertility is K (43.48 ppm - S8). The peat soil was infused with fertilizers to enhance the fertility rate of peat soil for the better growth of palm oil to make it more fertile and maximizing the yields. The presence of these heavy metal's elements is shown to be in the right amount of concentration that can comply with a considerate water quality that can avoid pollution and damage to the crops. In short, palm oil cultivation can make peat bogs become one of the functional soils, which can bring great benefits to building better agricultural development in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The under-utilized legume Mucuna bracteata is a potential biomass resource in Malaysia. A 24-month study was conducted under 10-year-old mature oil palm trees to determine the effects of several harvesting frequencies of M. bracteata on the legume biomass and soil properties. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design (RCBD) for the biomass and a two-factorial RCBD for the soil properties. The treatments were the harvesting frequencies, which were once every two, four, six, and twelve months. The control treatment was without harvest. There were significant effects on the legume's cumulative biomass, standing biomass, leaf area, nutrient contents, and total nutrient harvested for N, Ca, Mg, and cellulose content. Generally, the more frequent the harvest, the more biomass was obtained, but the more legume standing biomass and leaf area were reduced. Despite the reduction in legume growth and leaf area in the field, harvesting the legume did not affect any of the soil physicochemical properties. The biomass N, Ca, and Mg contents and nutrient harvested were also affected by harvesting. This was due to the production of relatively more young shoots after harvesting, which would remove most of the aboveground plant parts. The cellulose content in the legume also increased for the same reasons. Results showed that harvesting M. bracteata once every six months was an acceptable compromise between collecting large amounts of legume biomass and having a reduced legume growth recovery and leaf area in the field, but yet not detrimentally affecting the soil properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Indigenous thermophilic bacteria strains were isolated from oil palm plantation. • No additional carbon sources used in alkali lignin degradation by isolates. • Alkali lignin reduced approximately 50% by Stenotrophomonas sp. S2. • Alkali lignin reduced approximately 20% by B. subtilis S11Y. • Silica bodies of OPEFB was removed after 7 days of incubation. Abstract Previous studies on screening of lignin-degrading bacteria mainly focused on the ligninolytic ability of the isolated bacteria for the utilization of lignin monomers. In this study, we focused on the depolymerization of alkali lignin to prove the ability of the isolated thermophilic bacterial strains to utilize and depolymerize more than a monomer of alkali lignin within 7 days of incubation. Indigenous thermophilic bacterial isolates from the palm oil plantation were used to evaluate the depolymerization and utilization of alkali lignin. The confirmation of the bacterium-mediated depolymerization of oil palm empty fruit bunch was achieved through the removal of silica bodies, as observed with scanning electron microscopy. Stenotrophomonas sp. S2 and Bacillus subtilis S11Y were able to reduce approximately 50% and 20% of alkali lignin at 7 days of incubation without the requirement for additional carbon sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rats (Rattus spp.) can cause substantial economic loss to oil palm (Elaeis quineensis Jacq.) plantations. Spatial occurrence of rat in oil palm plantation has not been adequately dealt. We evaluated the rat occurrence at an oil palm plantation in Sabah, Malaysia using habitat factors from GIS and GeoEye data. Among the regression models examined, binomial logistic regression model best predicted the rat occurrence. Overall accuracy of the occurrence prediction calculated from an independent dataset was nearly 80%. The results allow us to identify factors of rat occurrence and recommend necessary control measures to the plantation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steam explosion of oil palm frond has been carried out under different temperatures between 180 and 210 °C for 4 min (severity of 2.96–3.84) after impregnation of the frond chips with water or KOH solution. The effects of impregnation and steam explosion conditions of oil palm fronds on the water soluble fraction and insoluble fraction were investigated. The maximum yield of hemicelluloses in water soluble fractions recovered was 23.49% and 25.33% for water and KOH impregnation, treated with steam explosion at temperature of 210 °C (severity of 3.84) with a fractionation efficiency of 77.30% and 83.32%, respectively. Under this condition, the water insoluble fractions contained celluloses at 60.83% and 64.80% for water and KOH impregnation, respectively. The steam explosion temperature of 210 °C for 4 min (log R o 3.84) was found to be the best condition in the extraction of hemicelluloses from OPF for both types of impregnation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This work is significance as sustainable alternative energy from biomass waste. • MP produced bio-oil with high monoaromatic and phenolic compound and low PAH. • High reaction temperature favour the production of biogas due to intensified secondary reactions. • A remarkable increase in syngas formation when reacted using MP in contrast to CP. Pyrolysis is an alternative heating method developed to produce bio-oil, biogas, and biochar from biomass, including oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) and rice husk (RH) pellets. This work focused on the comparison of the products obtained from microwave pyrolysis (MP) and conventional pyrolysis (CP). The experimental work was carried out using MP and CP at 500 °C and 800 °C. The properties of biochars produced from these reactions were characterized. The biofuels were characterized using FTIR and GC-MS, while the biogas was measured using GC-TCD. The composition of the H 2 gas or syngas was also analyzed. MP improved the yield of bio-oil and biochar, but the percentage of biogas yield decreased. The yield of bio-oil produced from the MP of RH and EFB pellets reacted at 800 °C increased significantly from 12.2 to 20.6 wt.% and 15.5 to 20.2 wt.%, respectively. The bio-oil derived from MP has a high content of monoaromatics and phenolic compounds compared to the oil produced from CP. Meanwhile, the bio-oil derived from CP contained a significant amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Although the yield of biogas produced via MP was slightly lower than CP, the total syngas produced from MP was significantly high for both EFB (78 vol.%) and RH (70 vol.%). For CP, only 62 vol.% and 68 vol.% of syngas was produced using EFB and RH, respectively. The findings highlight the potential of MP technology to synthesize environmentally-friendly bio-oil and biogas with a high percentage of syngas. Graphical Abstract [Display omitted]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Response surface methodology (RSM) was performed to evaluate the effects of dissolved oxygen tension (DOT) and initial pH on the production of carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase), filter-paper hydrolase (FPase), and β-glucosidase by Aspergillus terreus in a 2 L stirred tank bioreactor. Delignified oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibre was used as the main substrate under submerged fermentation. Growth of A. terreus and the production of three main components of cellulase were optimized by central composite design (CCD) design. Statistical analysis of results showed that the individual terms of these two variables (DOT and pH) had significant effects on growth and the production of all components of cellulase. Maximum growth (13.07 g/L) and cellulase activity (CMCase = 50.33 U/mL, FPase = 2.29 U/mL and β-glucosidase = 15.98 U/ml) were obtained when the DOT and initial culture pH were set at 55% and 5.5, respectively. A high proportion of β-glucosidase to FPase (8:1) in cellulase of A. terreus could be beneficial for efficient hydrolysis of cellulosic materials. The use of OPEFB as a main substrate would reduce the cost of fermentation for the production of cellulase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basal stem rot disease caused by the white‐rot fungus Ganoderma boninense is a major threat to the oil palm industry, and hence, the ability to detect infections at an early stage of development is desired. In this study, a headspace solid‐phase microextraction (HS‐SPME) method coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) was employed to analyse the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from G. boninense cultures and infected oil palm wood. We examined VOCs released from three types of samples: G. boninense mycelium, oil palm wood and oil palm wood colonized by G. boninense. This preliminary study led to the tentative identification of 57 VOCs, including alcohols, alkanes, volatile acids, ketones, aldehydes, esters, sesquiterpenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon groups. Aliphatic compounds with eight‐carbon atoms, such as 1‐octen‐3‐ol, 3‐octanone, 1‐octanol and (E)‐2‐octenal, were the most abundant constituents of the Ganoderma samples, whereas furfural and hexanal were the major compounds detected in the oil palm wood samples. Chemometric analyses using cluster heat maps and principal component analyses were used to discriminate between the VOC profiles. The results indicated that the novel method described here could be used to detect Ganoderma disease and, more generally, for chemoecological studies of plant–pathogen interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]