Oil palm plantation sector is the most important contribution to economic growth in most Asian countries and most plantations rely on chemical fertilizer for growth which caused harmful to environment. As we can see, nitrogen in the atmosphere can be fixed by the microorganism through the process of nitrogen fixation where it also can act as a bio-fertilizer. Therefore, three objectives are covered in this study, which 1) to review studies on microbial activities and their interaction with plant in soil, 2) to evaluate the effectiveness of organic matter that enhance microbe activity and also N-fixation and 3) to identify the species of bacteria and fungi used for oil palm inoculation in previous studies. A review of microbial activity has been presented in order to highlight the potential interaction where endophytic BNF bacteria have successfully increase the development of oil palm seedlings. Combination of EFB and cow dung in vermicompost technique showed the higher number of E. eugeniae (32 earthworms) thus increases available plant nitrogen. Microbial inoculation such as Glomus aggregatum, Bacillus salmalaya strain 139SI and Herbaspirillum seropedicae gives positive impact towards growth performance. The findings provided successful significant proof that microbe inoculation has a favorable influence on oil palm FFB production.

Fertilizer is one of the main inputs in agriculture. Moving towards soil sustainability, this study intended to determine the effects of different types of biofertilizer on selected peat soil properties and to evaluate the growth response of Pak Choy planted in the peat soils. In this study, the peat soil was taken at selected area recommended by Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan (PPK) in Tangkak, Johor, Malaysia. The treatments consist of three (3) different types of biofertilizer specifically Biofertilizer A (T1), Biofertilizer B (T2), Biofertilizer C (T3) and NPK 15:15:15 (T0) as a control with four replications, applied according to the recommended rate specified for each fertilizer. The treatments were arranged using randomized complete block design (RCBD) in a greenhouse. The selected soil properties (soil pH, soil moisture content, soil available P, soil exchangeable K, Ca and Mg) was analyse during the initial and after harvesting period whilst the growth response (number of leaves, plant height) of Pak Choy was monitored weekly. Findings showed that there are significant differences in soil pH and soil available P between treatments. The soil pH is significantly improved upon application of biofertilizers, specifically the Biofertilizer B and Biofertilizer C. Additionally, other parameters such as K, Ca and Mg indicates a positive increment upon biofertilizer application as compared to control. As such, it can be concluded that there is a positive effect of different types of biofertilizer application on selected peat soil properties and the growth response of Pak Choy planted in the peat soils.