Cause of the problem: Jing Shu showing the Ganoderma fungus that is
infecting oil palms.

02/01/2013 (The Star) - Oil palm plantation owners around the world are facing a threat from the spread of basal stem rot (BSR) caused by the fungus Ganoderma, a disease that causes oil palms to decay from within.

The disease has had a global effect and Malaysian plantation owners have been asked to act fast to curb the spread of the disease.

Last July The Star reported that there had been a 3.7% rise in reported cases of the disease in estates nationwide.

It is estimated that 59,000ha over scattered areas of oil palm plantation encompassing 1.1 million hectares has been infected in Sarawak while 400,000ha of plantations in Peninsular Malaysia are reported to have been infected.

Treatment: Fertiliser being injected into the trunk of an oil palm.

Last August, during a talk covered by StarBiz, Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) chief executive officer Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron said Malaysia is one of the largest producers of palm oil in the world and plantation-based commodity industries contributed about 11% of the country’s total export revenue last year.

While most oil palm plantationsowner are worried about the disease that has lowered the production of palm oil, brothers Teck Tan Jing Shu and Tan Jing Shan have found a silver lining in the cloud.

“The BSR disease has been known about for a long time, but recently the palm oil industry has seen a worrying spread of the disease. The disease is causing a headache among plantations owners and threatens their revenue,” Jing Shu said.

However, the disease has opened a window of opportunity for the brothers and their business which produces a liquid organic compound fertiliser, based on a German biotech formula, that combats and cures GBSR in oil palms.

A leap of faith

It all started when a friend who frequented their father’s traditional tuina therapy centre introduced them to the German technology.

The brothers thought the product was worth investing in and took a leap of faith by starting their own company in October 2009.

The duo pumped in RM500,000 to establish Agro Yuli Sdn Bhd in Bukit Tinggi near Klang.

“It was a tough beginning as the demand for our fertiliser was low as the disease had only affected a small area of oil palms in Malaysia.

“Although using the fertiliser requires a fairly simple and economical technique, the market was very sceptical about the new technology, afraid that it might cause further harm to their oil palms,” Jing Shu said.

He also mentioned that they had carried out demonstrations of their products for owners of small estates, but the time taken to yield results and convince them stretched from six months to two years.

“It was very difficult to gain the faith of Malaysian plantation owners and the period needed to see results was too long.

“We faced difficult times financially and were barely able to hold on to the company, but we persevered,” said Jing Shu.

Yet, BSR came at a time when most small-plantation owners did not know how to deal with the infectious disease. Agro Yuli stepped in to provide a viable solution.

Today, the brothers have relocated their 8,640 sq ft factory to North Port in Klang.

The factory can produce up to 10,000 bottles of 10-litre liquid organic fertiliser a month and the company reports monthly sales of 3,500 to 5,000 bottles.

Of that, 1,000 to 1,500 bottles are used in local plantations while the rest is exported to neighbouring countries such as Myanmar and Indonesia.

“Currently, the company earns, on average, RM100,000 a month from the sales of the fertiliser,” he said.

The factory has also appointed Lagi Murni Sdn Bhd as their sole distributing agent in Malaysia. Distribution in other countries is handled by other companies.

Prevention is better than cure

According to Jing Shan, the liquid fertiliser contains 10 bacilli that are used to produce antibiotics and increase resistance to diseases.

“Compared to other chemical compound fertilisers, the Yuli fertiliser is organic and environmental friendly. It will not cause pollution to water systems or harm the ozone layer.

“It also enhance the absorption of the roots and boosts the percentage of oil in the fruit byup to 30% to 40%,” he said, adding that the fertiliser should be applied to palms to prevent infection.

Using the fertiliser requires plantation owners to drill a 8-inch to 10-inch hole into the oil palm trunk and the insertion a PVC pipe to facilitate the injection of liquid fertiliser into the tree trunk.

The opening is then capped and the fertiliser left to work its wonders.

Jing Shan also said that the fertiliser should be applied when the oil palms are mature enough to resist infection.

“Prevention is always better than cure.

“When the fertiliser is applied too late, it might not be in time to cure the disease,” he said.

Jing Shan added that it would be too late if the disease had spread to other trees.

He also said that the fertiliser has been tested and certified by Sirim, certification company SGS International, as well as Indonesia’s Oil Palm Research Institute.

Moving forward, the duo hope to expand their business and reach a wider range of customers locally and from other countries.

“Several interested individuals from Australia had contacted us for our products and we are planning to export the technology to Australia,” the duo said.

“We are seeking new biotech methods to enhance agricultural productivity as well as getting more involved in better and more nutrituous food for livestock,” Jing Shan added.

“We are also in the midst of getting our products patented and ISO certified. We also hope to go public and be listed on Bursa Malaysia in three years time,” he said.

For details, visit www.yulifertilizer.com.