ROMPIN: The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is using helicopters to spray Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-based biopesticides to control bagworm (ulat bungkus) infestations in oil palm plantations nationwide.
Deputy Prime Minister and Plantation and Commodities minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said bagworms infestations of mature oil palm trees causes losses of around RM100 million a year.
"In 2017, drones were used to control the bagworms, but their range was limited. Using helicopters since early this year has ensured a wider coverage and is more cost-effective.
"The government's efforts through MPOB has curbed the bagworm population at oil palm plantations. In Johor, bagworms previously infested some 19,000 hectares of oil palm, but this has been reduced to 4,000 hectares this year.
"In Perak, the bagworms population has been reduced by more than 95 percent this year. A lot of oil palm plantations in Johor, Perak and Pahang were affected by bagworms and MPOB hopes spraying using helicopters will be expanded throughout the country by the end of this year," he told reporters today.
Fadillah earlier launched the helicopter spraying programme to control bagworms at oil palm plantations and attended the smart palm mill ground breaking at the Malaysian Palm Oil Training Centre in Keratong near here today.
He said MPOB would brief oil palm plantation owners on how to identify and control bagworms infestations.
"Various actions will be taken including aerial and ground spraying. The bagworms will usually attack the oil palm leaves which will jeopardise the quality of the fruit, and result in a drop in fruit production," he said, adding that MPOB would advise the helicopter company in charge of aerial spraying on the affected areas.
Fadillah said aerial and ground spraying of Bt-based biopesticide, which was developed by MPOB, was environmentally friendly and increased the population of beneficial insects in oil palm plantations to control the reproduction of bagworms.
"MPOB has developed a method of controlling bagworms through an integrated pest control system."
Bagworms are leaf-eating insects that spin a silk nest embedded with pieces of dried leaves and damages the crops by attacking its leaves.
Fadillah said the smart palm oil mill, adopting the Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) approach and built as a result of a strategic collaboration between MPOB and Fusionex Group, will use a zero-discharge approach.
He said the mill was expected to be completed at the end of next year and will start operating at the beginning of 2025 with a processing capacity of 30 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches per hour.
Present was MPOB chairman Datuk Mohamad Helmy Othman Basha.