Taxonomic and Electrophoretic Studies of Selected Species of Ganoderma (Karst.)

Ganoderma, the causal pathogen of Basal Stem Rot, is found in association with all major plantation crops in Malaysia, but the most severe debilitation caused is when they are found on oil palms. It is not known how many species/pathogenic types there are, whether a differential degree of virulence existed, and whether the fungus is host-specific. Ganoderma taxonomy is still controversial and could not effectively aid pathological considerations. This study was carried out to fulfill 4 main objectives. The first was to determine the diversity and percentage distribution of sporophore types found in association with oil palms. The second was to determine a means of inducing sporophore production under controlled conditions, starting from mycelial cultures. The third was to characterise the samples based on sporophore morphology, mycelial types and vegetative compatibility of isolates within and between groups. The fourth was to assess the relationship of Ganoderma within and between sampling groups using the Numerical Taxonomy Systematics computer programme based on Roger's Distance Measure (DJ The raw data were obtained from isozyme electrophoresis, using mycelial extracts. A morphological assessment showed a total of seven colour types found on oil palms and coconut stumps in West Malaysia. Four were recognised as G. boninense, G. miniatocinctum, G. chalceum and G. tornatum, but descriptions for three others (CT3, CT5 and CT7) could not be found and were assumed yet to be taxonomically annotated. Success with sp orophore induction techniques has aided morphological characterisation procedures in this study and its viability has introduced a potential basis for a further and more intensive conventional systematics investigations. Mycelial characterisation did not show any correlation with the variety of sporophore colours. Isozyme electrophoresis did not reciprocate the polymorphism exhibited by Ganoderma sporophores, but yielded important informations on distance relationships. Acid Phosphatase and Malate Dehydrogenase were good marker isozymes as they could distinguish successfully, isolates of palmhosts from isolates of tree-hosts. No similar marker-isozyme existed for isolates within the palm-hosts, although (with the exception of EGP series for Cholinesterase) no isolate from oil palm showed bands identical to the isolates from coconut stumps and vice versa. The resultant dendrogram based on Roger's Distance (D) showed three major clusters at 0.31, 0.48 and 0.66. The first major cluster divides the population into isolates of palm-hosts vs. tree-hosts. Results from numerical analysis showed that host type was a stronger basis for a close relationship, and that geographical origin and/or a common symptomology was less relevant

Basidiomata induction and characterization of ganoderrna from oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) on three agrowaste substrates

Ganoderma is a causal pathogen ofbasal stem rot ofoil palm. Members ofthis genus are very diverse in the tropics but the significance ofthis diversity is difficult to relate to taxonomic levels in the genus, largely because of the lack of knowledge about the stability ofparticular features of the fungus. This paper outlines a culture method that induces the formation of Ganoderma basidiomata under controlled conditions, and thus enables the stability of characters to be evaluated. Using induced basidiomata, selected characteristics were found to be reproducible on 3 solid substrates, palm press fibres (PPF), cotton fibres (CF) and rubberwood sawdust (RSD). The rate of mycelial colonization varied significantly with different substrates but, once formed, the rates of basidioma growth and development were comparable irrespective ofsubstrate type. Besides the growth rates ofGanoderma, this study also offers insight into the status of colour in mature basidioma, the potential of stipe attachment as a taxonomic character, and the requirement for high ambient RH values for spore production of induced basidiomata

Application of particle swarm optimization for solving optimal generation plant location problem

The global demand for energy especially-in-developing-countries,-has-been witnessing a tremendous growth due to rapid population growth, economic growth and developing industrial sectors. Therefore, it is necessary to forecast the future energy needs and expand generation capacity to meet the increasing peak demand.-This-paper-presents-an-optimization approach to determine the optimal location for installing a new generator in which the technical, economic and environmental aspects are all taken into consideration. The location that yields the minimum fuel costs, total emission and system loss is considered as the optimal generation plant location. The- formulated- objective- function- and- its constraints compose an optimization problem is solved using particle swarm optimization (PSO). The proposed PSO based optimization approach is tested on IEEE 14-bus system and IEEE 30-bus system to illustrate the potential of the new approach. The simulation results have shown that the proposed approach is indeed capable of determining the optimal generation location that can save much overall fuel cost as well as reduce the total emissions of generators and losses in the network

Pressure treatment of fresh and ponded Heritiera mirror (Roxb.) logs with Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA)

Sundri (Heritiera minor Roxb.) is a hardwood species which exhibits good strength qualities. They have potential for use as electric poles but their short service life posed a problem. This study examined whether treatment with the preservative Chromated Capper Arsenate (CCA) by full cell pressure method at 15.40 - 16.10 kg/cm2 for 8 hours could extend their service life. The samples tested were processed fresh and ponded H. minor logs of approximately 1 m length and 0.25 m diameter. Results showed that that the preservative treatment gave a mean penetration value of 23.84% log radius for fresh specimens and 32.29% for ponded logs, which were short of the standard requirement of 44% log radius penetration. The preservative retention of ponded logs was within the acceptable standard values of 20 kg/cm2of dry oxide basis, but that offresh logs did not meet the standard requirement. Thus, the full pressure treatment can extend the service life of H. minor to a certain extent in which ponded logs gave encouraging response to the preservative treatment

Amalan Efikasi Guru dan Hubungan dengan Kepedulian Kerja Guru MRSM

Penyelidikan ini dijalankan bertujuan mengenal pasti tahap dan hubungan efikasi guru dengan kepedulian kerja guru serta melihat pengaruh efikasi guru terhadap kepedulian kerja guru Maktab Rendah Sains MARA. Kajian menggunakan kaedah tinjauan. Beberapa teknik pensampelan digunakan iaitu pensampelan tiga tahap iaitu tahap satu (1) ialah pensampelan rawak kelompok besar; tahap dua (2) ialah pensampelan rawak kelompok kecil dalam kelompok besar; tahap tiga (3) ialah pensampelan rawak elemen dalam kelompok kecil dengan mengedarkan satu set borang soal selidik yang telah diadaptasi daripada penyelidik asal. Seramai 363 orang responden yang terdiri daripada ketua-ketua jabatan akademik dan guru-guru kanan subjek di 20 buah MRSM seluruh Malaysia telah menjawab soal selidik yang diedarkan. Data dianalisis menggunakan perisian IBM SPSS. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan tahap efikasi guru MRSM adalah tinggi dan memiliki hubungan yang kuat dengan kepedulian kerja guru. Seterusnya pengaruh efikasi guru terhadap kepedulian kerja guru pada nilai r²= 0.267 pada nilai signifikan p<0.05 menunjukkan hanya strategi pengajaran dan penglibatan murid berupaya menjadi pengaruh kepada kepedulian kerja guru

Amalan Kepimpinan Multidimensi Pengetua dan Norma-Norma Budaya di MRSM

Penyelidikan ini dijalankan bertujuan mengenal pasti tahap perbezaan skor min kepimpinan multidimensi pengetua dan norma-norma budaya dari aspek lokasi dan jantina guru di Maktab Rendah Sains MARA. Kajian menggunakan kaedah tinjauan. Beberapa teknik pensampelan digunakan iaitu pensampelan tiga tahap iaitu tahap satu (1) ialah pensampelan rawak kelompok besar; tahap dua (2) ialah pensampelan rawak kelompok kecil dalam kelompok besar; tahap tiga (3) ialah pensampelan rawak elemen dalam kelompok kecil dengan mengedarkan satu set borang soal selidik yang telah diadaptasi daripada penyelidik asal. Seramai 363 orang responden yang terdiri daripada ketua-ketua jabatan akademik dan guru-guru kanan subjek di 20 buah MRSM seluruh Malaysia telah menjawab soal selidik yang diedarkan. Data dianalisis menggunakan perisian IBM SPSS. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan tahap kepimpinan pengetua adalah sangat tinggi dan tahap norma-norma budaya hanyalah tahap tinggi. Seterusnya kepimpinan multidimensi pengetua dan norma-norma budaya terdapat perbezaan skor min yang signifikan pada aras p<.05 dari aspek lokasi. Kepimpinan multidimensi pengetua dari aspek jantina tidak terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan pada aras p<.05 tetapi terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan pada aras p<.05 dalam norma-norma budaya dari aspek jantina

Adsorption and absorption of Cu in Trichoderma atroviride

Conventional methods for removing heavy metals from polluted waters, using chemical precipitation, sludge separation, chemical oxidation or reduction, and ion exchange, have been uneconomical and are weak processes. An alternative technique is the use of fungi as bioremediating agents. A strain of Trichoderma atroviride, isolated from a river passing through the metal polluted Serdang industrial area, was studied for its uptake and tolerance to Cu. This study found that the uptake capacity of T. atroviride for Cu ranged from 0.77 to 11 .20 mg/g in Potato Dextrose Broth in liquid media over the Cu concentration range of 25 to 300 mgIL. The isolate showed 50.3 to 85.4% adsorption and 9.6 to 47.1% absorption. These adsorption and absorption values are comparable to any good bioremediators for Cu found in the literature. This study suggests that T. atroviride is a potential bioremediator of Cu. However, further studies are still needed to confirm its practical use as a bioremediating agent under field conditions

Disease suppression in Ganoderma-infected oil palm seedlings treated with Trichoderma harzianum

Disease suppression in Ganoderma-infected oil palm seedlings treated with a conidial suspension of Trichoderma harzianum FA 1132 was tested in plant house conditions to determine the effectiveness of the fungus as a biocontrol agent. The highest efficacy of control was achieved by treatment right after artificial infection; the total number of infected plants was reduced to give the lowest disease severity index (DSI) value of 5.0%, compared to the infected and non-treated control that had the highest DSI of 70.0%. After conidia suspension of FA 1132 was applied, the colony forming ability by Trichoderma in the soil was dramatically increased, but decreased after some time. Results of the present study are a useful reference basis for further tests in the field and large scale production trials

Bacteria from an oil palm agricultural system and their interactions with Ganoderma boninense and Trichoderma harzianum

The fungus Trichoderma harzianum (isolate FA 1132) has shown potential as a biological control agent of the oil palm pathogen, Ganoderma boninense. It is currently being produced on a large scale as Trichoderma-infused compost for field trials. This study isolated bacteria from such a compost as well as from oil palm rhizospheres. They were screened for antagonistic reactions with FA 1132. Four out of six species of bacteria showed fungistatic activity towards G. boninense. Corynebacterium urealyticum gave the highest percentage inhibition of radial growth (PIRG) at 86.6%, but was incompatible with FA 1132. Except for C. urealyticum, all the other isolates showed compatiblity with FA 1132. This study deduced that Chromobacterium violaceum and Burkholderia cepacia may have the capacity to act as individual inoculants to inhibit the growth of G. boninense, as well as have the potential to be used as co-inoculants in consortium with T. harzianum FA 1132, for enhanced performance in a biological control formulation