Trichoderma spp. is one of the biocontrol agents that have important benefits for agriculture in Indonesia. Exploration is carried out at PT Bumitama Gunajaya Agro Oil Palm Plantations in high yield blocks. This study aims to identify and determine the isolates of Trichoderma spp. and to find out its in vitro antagonism against Ganoderma spp. Morphological identification of Trichoderma spp. carried out using a trinocular microscope. There were six isolates analyzed based on internal transcribed spacer sequences (ITS) in ribosomal DNA region using PCR technique with ITS 1 and ITS 4. The results of this research showed that Trichoderma spp. original from PT BGA Central Kalimantan has diverse characteristics. Sequencing analysis showed that six isolates were in one group with Trichoderma asperellum isolates T5 (Acc. No. MH809176), IIPR-80 (Acc. No. MK841018) and TV5 (Acc. No. MH393299). Based on the antagonism test, it was found that six isolates were able to inhibit the growth of Ganoderma spp. with an average percentage value is ≥50%.

Sterilization processes in palm mills demand high energy, intensive water use, and excessive waste. Moreover, the process involves the use of a pressurizing chamber, and hence, extended the time required to complete the batch. Sterilization aims to deactivate the enzyme in the fruits Mesocarp and loosen the fruitlet to ease detachment from the bunch. This study proposes an alternate process with a similar aim and result while reducing the resources required, water in particular. The methods include exposing the oil palm Fresh Fruits Bunch (FFB) with electromagnetic radiation in different power and exposure time. The results showed by presenting the FFB with 180 Watt electromagnetic radiation in 16 minutes, the oil in the Mesocarp extracted as much as 66.71% of total weight. Furthermore, the properties of extracted oil (DOBI number, carotene content, and FFA level) were superior to the unmodified sterilization process. However, the cost of processing the FFB with electromagnetic radiation remains high, and further study required to economize the cost.