During the postharvest management of fruits and vegetables, the losses range from 10 to 30% of the entire production. This is due to numerous causes, but the most important reason is infestation by fungi. Many synthetic fungicides are employed for postharvest treatment of fruit and vegetables throughout the world. However, fungicidal residues often represent a significant threat to human health. The current study examined the use of hot water treatments on rock melon fruit. Hot water treatments at 55℃ was arranged into four treatments of different dipping periods of 0 minutes (control), 1 minute, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes. The postharvest hot water treatments on rock melon fruit were found to increase the shelf life up to 21 days by minimizing the weight loss, maintaining firmness, preventing the damage of sucrose, retaining the rind size, maintaining the fruit appearance, and reducing fungal infection. The one-minute dip was more effective than other treatments. The treatment successfully extends the shelf life of rock melon fruit quality for the market until three weeks of storage at 21 ± 1 ℃ compared with the control, which was only stored for one week. The results showed the importance of hot water treatments as an alternative to fungicides or chemical treatments, which have a high risk to the health of consumers. Hot water treatment is economical and easier to access than the chemical treatments.

Rice is an important crop and a staple food in Malaysia. Herbicides are used extensively to control weeds, which represent a major constraint to yield production. Although the introduction of Imidazolinone-resistant Rice with its management system (IRPS) has greatly improved both yields and weed control, the system is designed to be used for only a short term before transitioning to local varieties. Thus, a survey was conducted among 115 farmers to obtain information on their general knowledge on weed control and IRPS. The results showed that the majority of the farmers use herbicides to control all types of weed presented, with a small minority still using manual control. The majority of farmers using IRPS were applying the herbicide imidazolinone when soil condition were right, and only once per season, which is the recommendation. Most of the farmers still utilized imidazolinone to control weedy rice but would not use it on other weeds. However, many of the farmers perceived imidazolinone as becoming more ineffective and expensive and were willing to change to other herbicides if there was a viable alternative. Although herbicide is the main method employed in controlling weeds when using IRPS, farmers still regard imidazolinone as an ineffective herbicide. The reason IRPS is still in use is due to the high yields provided. This study shows a better understanding of knowledge on weeds and IRPS among farmers. Nonetheless, the IRPS will become a redundant system due to the ineffectiveness of imidazolinone and a new system should be introduced to replace it.

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) contains highly nutritional values compared to other leafy vegetables in tropical areas. This vegetable requires an adequate amount of plant nutrients for growth and development. Nitrogen (N) fertilization can improve plant qualities, but at the same time, it may also lead to higher levels of pest damage to crops. Diamondback moth (DBM) is one of the major insect pests attacking cabbage thus reducing the profitable cabbage production. This study is to demonstrate the effect of N on the plant growth and response of the insect pest towards higher N fertilization. Cabbage were applied with different N level; control; 50 mg/L, 100 mg/L, 150 mg/L, 200 mg/L and 300 mg/L at 2 nd and 4 th week after transplanting. At 6 th week, treatment with higher N enhances the growth and development of cabbage and fastens the development of DBM. Glucosinolate content in cabbage was higher at 6 th week compared to 9 th and 12 th weeks. It was further concluded that N fertilizer can increase cabbage productivity and understanding to learn chemical ecology and insect behaviour are crucial to develop pest control approaches.

Pest is primary main destructive agents in fruits and vegetable production that impact the quality and its production. Insect pests are the most ruinous agents that attack vegetable plants. Use of chemical pesticides has become extensive to reduce the losses. However, synthetic pesticides can have adverse effects on the environment and human if applied without proper training in pesticide application. One of the alternative ways to control pests that are environmentally safe and cost effective is by using natural repellents. However, there are little study conducted on the application method regarding the effectiveness of the natural repellent in controlling pest. Hence, the present experiment was aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of neem fermentation and the combination solution of garlic, chili and ginger and its spray timing in controlling pest on Abelmoschus esculentus and Brassica rapa. There are two different application times, which are early morning 8-9 a.m. and the late evening which is between 6-7 p.m. The parameters collected were severity of pest infestation, number of pests infected in each treatment, and the yield of okra and mustard. Data were analysed using ANOVA and mean comparison using LSD. The result show that for both okra and mustard treated with neem can control insect attacks most effectively, followed by mixture of chili, garlic, and ginger. Between application times of natural plant repellent, spraying in late evening showed the most efficient in controlling pest attack, compared to spray in the early morning.