Abstract

Author:
Winner Henry, Khairul Azhan Othman, Clarence Peter Jupili, Chun Hong Choon, Shih Hao Tony Peng and Charles Then

Doi: 10.26480/trab.01.2026.17.25

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Ganoderma boninense-induced basal stem rot (BSR) remains among the most significant challenges to oil palm productivity and sustainability in Malaysia. Accompanying this, “Sawit Shield”, a bio-inoculant based on Trichoderma, developed from endophytic strains isolated from naturally recovered palms, was evaluated by widespread nursery and multi-year field trials. At the nursery stage, premature inoculation with “Sawit Shield” successfully suppressed Ganoderma infection, in which treated seedlings had only 23.3%–30.0% disease incidence but infected non-treated controls had 100%. Field testing was conducted at Pegagau Estate (Semporna) and Pitas Estate (Kudat), both of which are high-risk locations and have been worst-hit by Ganoderma attacks. The Sawit Shield-treated palms in Pegagau were only 0% infected at 60 months, as opposed to the controls at 4.17%. Similarly, 36 months observation at Pitas reported 0% infection from the treated plots against 11.67% in controls. Treated palms in Pegagau outperformed controls in fresh fruit bunch production throughout four years with a maximum of 32.94 Mt/ha and with significantly higher average bunch weight each year. These findings justify “Sawit Shield”‘s consistent ability to suppress disease development and optimize agronomic performance under on-farm field conditions. Aside from disease control, environmental benefits were also achieved, for instance, reduced reliance on chemical fungicides and fertilizers (by 15–20%) and valorization of palm oil mill by-products in formulation. With proven efficacy, environmental value, and industrial adaptability, “Sawit Shield” is an expandable, environment, social and governance (ESG)-suited biocontrol solution for sustainable oil palm plantation management.