The red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae) has become a key invasive pest and major threat to the palm tree worldwide. Several entomopathogenic fungi are used in insect biological control programs. In the present study, persistency of different local and exotic fungal isolates of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae was evaluated under UV-B irradiation with different exposure intervals. Several factors, including ultraviolet (UV) light, significantly decrease germination rate of fungi, as UV penetrates and damages their DNA. Several studies have investigated that UV-resistant conidia germinate better under harsh environmental conditions. Seven local and exotic fungi isolates (“BbSA-1”, “BbSA-2”, “BbSA-3”, “MaSA-1”, “BbIDN-1”, “MaIDN-1”, and “MaIDN-2”) were tested in the current study under UV-B irradiation having different UV exposure times (i.e., 15, 30, 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 min). The colony-forming unit (CFU) in each isolate was used to calculate the survival rate. Results indicated that survival rate of all the isolates decreased under UV-B irradiation for all exposure times compared to no exposure to UV-B irradiation. The CFU number decreased as the exposure time increased. Fungi isolates “MaSA-1”, “BbSA-1”, “BbSA-2”, “MaIDN-1”, and “MaIDN-2” could persist after 300 min exposure to UV-B, while the remaining isolates, such as “BbIDN-1”, and “BbSA-3”, could not persist after 300 min exposure to UV-B. The ultimate objective of the present research was to explore an ultraviolet-tolerant fungal isolate that might be useful in the field application for the sustainable management of the red palm weevil, which has become a key invasive pest in many regions rather than its native range. Most of the fungus isolates studied in the present work were collected from Saudi Arabia’s Al-Qatif region, where the red palm weevil has infested more than ten thousand trees, worth millions of riyals.

Penyakit busuk pangkal batang (BPB) pada tanaman lada yang disebabkan cendawan Phytophthora capsici merupakan penyakit penting yang dapat menyebabkan kehilangan hasil hingga 15% per tahun. Pemanfaatan agens hayati merupakan alternatif pengendalian penyakit tanaman yang ramah lingkungan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis kemampuan penghambatan Gliocladium sp. terhadap P. capsici secara in vitro serta mengetahui kemampuannya sebagai dekomposer. Metode penelitian menggunakan metode dual culture antara Gliocladium sp. dengan P. capsici. Sementara itu, biokompos dibuat dengan bahan dasar serbuk gergaji-dedak dengan perbandingan 3:2 untuk mengetahui kemampuan Gliocladium sp. sebagai dekomposer. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Gliocladium sp. mampu menghambat pertumbuhan P. capsici dengan persentase penghambatan tertinggi sebesar 54,89% setelah lima hari inokulasi. Di sisi lain, Gliocladium juga mampu mendekomposisi dan tumbuh baik pada bahan organik berupa campuran serbuk gergaji-dedak

Leaf spot is the primary disease on oil palm nurseries. The symptom of the disease is leaf spots are round to oval in shape and vary in color from yellow to brown to black. The initial size may be as small as a pin point. Some leaf spots initially appear as lesions. During disease development, leaf spots will have a contrasting colored edge or halo - e.g., brown spot with a yellow halo, tan center with brown edge or gray center with black edge and a yellow halo. As the leaf spots expand in size, the shape and coloration may change. As the disease progresses, leaf spots often coalesce (merge together) to form large areas of blighted tissue. If the disease continues to develop, leaflets or the entire leaf may die prematurely. The disease also causes stunted and even plant death. Disease control methods that rely primarily on biological agents and do not include fertilizers are less effective in the field. Therefore, the development of organic fertilizer formulations and the use of biocontrol agents are expected to assist oil palm nurseries in suppressing leaf spot disease. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of organic fertilizer and biocontrol agents on leaf spot disease. The results showed that the treatment of Organic Fertilizer and biocontrol agents was able to reduce 47.19% leaf spot disease after five weeks of application.