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At present, there is little information on the effects of organic amendments on black pepper farms particularly in Sarawak, Malaysia. The objective was to study the effects of organic amendments on selected soil properties, morphological characteristics, and yield of immature vines and its economic viability on immature pepper productions. There were five treatments each replicated five times in a randomized complete block design. Treatments were (i) F0—NPK 15:15:15 compound fertilizers, (ii) F1—fermented plant juice (FPJ), (iii) F2—FPJ incorporated with biochar, and compost, (iv) F3—fermented fruit juice (FFJ), and (v) F4—FFJ incorporated with biochar, and compost. The soil organic amendments which were consisted of fermented juices, biochar, and compost have positively improved soil bulk density, soil porosity, pH, CEC, TOC, C/N ratio, available P, exchangeable Ca, soil respiration, and soil microorganism count (bacteria, actinomycetes, and fungi). The fermented juices only or fermented juices with biochar and compost had lower effect on LAI and fruit spike length. The effect of soil organic amendments on fresh berry yield was comparable to that of NPK fertilizer. The economic viability study showed that the organic approach was comparable to the conventional NPK fertilization program. Through the interaction of beneficial microorganisms, biochar, and compost, introducing organic amendments in immature pepper cultivation is a reasonable option due to its contribution to yield that can lead to income sustainability for farmers.

Sandy-textured soil infertility poses a problem for sustainable crop cultivation. This problem is usually dealt with by the addition of chemical fertilizers, which are expensive and can cause serious environmental issues if not managed well. A better alternative to improve and manage sandy soil infertility is the use of organic amendments produced from agro-wastes. This two (2)-year field study was conducted in a sandy-textured soil grown with black pepper to evaluate mainly the effects of chemical fertilizer, fermented plant and fruit juices, compost, and biochar on soil properties and morpho-physiological characteristics and yield of black pepper. Generally, the results indicated that the combination of fermented fruit juice, compost, and biochar was comparable to and in some cases better than chemical fertilizer in terms of soil physical, chemical, and biological properties as well as crop performance. These findings were even more pronounced in the second year of measurements. There were strong positive relationships between soil N and pepper leaf chlorophyll content and between soil microbes and soil respiration. The findings showed that these soil amendments produced from agro-wastes are a good alternative to the use of chemical fertilizers on sandy soils to improve soil fertility and productivity and the yield of black pepper sustainably.

Illegal logging and smuggling of Gonystylus bancanus (Thymelaeaceae) poses a serious threat to this fragile valuable peat swamp timber species. Using G. bancanus as a case study, DNA markers were used to develop identification databases at the species, population and individual level. The species level database for Gonystylus comprised of an rDNA (ITS2) and two cpDNA ( trnH-psbA and trnL ) markers based on a 20 Gonystylus species database. When concatenated, taxonomic species recognition was achieved with a resolution of 90% (18 out of the 20 species). In addition, based on 17 natural populations of G. bancanus throughout West (Peninsular Malaysia) and East (Sabah and Sarawak) Malaysia, population and individual identification databases were developed using cpDNA and STR markers respectively. A haplotype distribution map for Malaysia was generated using six cpDNA markers, resulting in 12 unique multilocus haplotypes, from 24 informative intraspecific variable sites. These unique haplotypes suggest a clear genetic structuring of West and East regions. A simulation procedure based on the composition of the samples was used to test whether a suspected sample conformed to a given regional origin. Overall, the observed type I and II errors of the databases showed good concordance with the predicted 5% threshold which indicates that the databases were useful in revealing provenance and establishing conformity of samples from West and East Malaysia. Sixteen STRs were used to develop the DNA profiling databases for individual identification. Bayesian clustering analyses divided the 17 populations into two main genetic clusters, corresponding to the regions of West and East Malaysia. Population substructuring ( K =2) was observed within each region. After removal of bias resulting from sampling effects and population subdivision, conservativeness tests showed that the West and East Malaysia databases were conservative. This suggests that both databases can be used independently for random match probability estimation within respective regions. The reliability of the databases was further determined by independent self-assignment tests based on the likelihood of each individual's multilocus genotype occurring in each identified population, genetic cluster and region with an average percentage of correctly assigned individuals of 54.80%, 99.60% and 100% respectively. Thus, after appropriate validation, the genetic identification databases developed for G. bancanus in this study could support forensic applications and help safeguard this valuable species into the future.