09.10.2019 (The Borneo Post) - KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) says it uses the publication “Biosecurity Plan for the Malaysian Oil Palm Industry” as a guide to ensure the highest level of biosecurity in the nation’s oil palm industry.

MPOB said the book contains procedures to reduce and control the entry of exotic agents and pests that can cause disease in oil palm trees.

“The book provides mechanisms to identify the threat of disease or pests more systematically and the actions to be taken to control its spread,” it said in a statement yesterday.

The book was launched by Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok on Nov 12 last year.

Meanwhile, MPOB said its researchers have developed a smartphone application called SawitSecure to identify foreign or exotic diseases that could threaten oil palm trees.

The app, launched on July 9, contains important facts about oil palm tree pests and diseases, the types of exotic weeds found in oil palm plantations, and how to identify signs of the diseases as well as ways to control their spread, it added. — Bernama