BUKU ABSTRAK - Universiti Putra Malaysia

Agriculture
Economic Benefits of Sustainable Agriculture
Prof. Dr. Mad Nasir Shamsudin
Hairuddin Mohd. Amir and Alias Radam
Faculty of Agriculture, University Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
+603-8946 4170; nasir@agri.upm.edu.my
Environmental protection is a basic element of sustainable agricultural development. Agricultural production
practices, however, can cause negative externalities. One main concern of the externality is the negative effects
of pesticide use. This has motivated the application of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. This study
attempts to evaluate the economic benefits of IPM to address the widespread misuse of pesticides in cabbage
production. IPM application in cabbage production includes initiatives on the optimal use of pesticides,
complementary weed control strategies, and alternative cultural and biological controls. Results of this study
showed that the programme would generate economic benefits which include improvements in water quality,
food safety, pesticide application safety, and long term sustainability of pest management systems.Thus there is
justification for public investment of resources in training and educational programs to increase awareness about
IPM and promote IPM adoption.
Keywords: Integrated pest management, economic benefits, cabbage production
New Nano-emulsion System in Weeds Control Formulations
Prof. Dr. Mahiran Basri
Lim Chaw Jiang, Dzolkifli Omar, Abu Bakar Salleh and Mohd. Basyaruddin Abdul Rahman and Raja Noor
Zaliha Raja Abdul Rahman
Faculty of Science, University Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
+603-8946 7266; mahiran@science.upm.edu.my
The global pesticides production is amounted to 1.5 - 2.5 million tons of active ingredients (AIs) annually.
However, less than 0.1% conventionally applied pesticides reaches the target sites, with the pesticides being lost
via spray drift, off-target deposition, run-off and photodegradation. To minimize the pesticides dissipation, one
of the most important ways is to increase the penetration of AIs into plant foliage. A new nano-emulsion system
containing oil phase, surfactants and water, offers large surface area for absorption with the droplet size extremely
small (20-200nm), and uniformly distributed, thus provides enhanced and rapid penetration. Glyphosate
isopropylamine (IPA), a water-soluble herbicide active, the penetration through hydrophobic epicuticular wax
and cuticle are the main barriers. Oil phase in nano-emulsion could make glyphosate increases its bioavailability
to penetrate and translocate well into the waxy layers of leaves. Water in the nano-emulsion system provides
hydration and solubilisation medium to the hydrophilic glyphosate in the foliar uptake. The nano-emulsion system
uses less surfactant than commercial herbicide (Roundup®), reduces the great impact to the environment. The use
of renewable resources of nonionic surfactant, alkylpolyglucosides (APG), and vegetable oils of fatty acid methyl
esters (FAMEs), in the nano-emulsion system to replace the toxic surfactant polyoxyethyleneamine (POEA) in
Roundup®, renders good biodegradability, environmentally friendly and economic viability to foster sustainable
agriculture. The surface tensions of the nano-emulsion systems are extremely low at 24.0 - 27.0 mN/m. The nanoemulsion
formulations showed very good control on weeds Asystasia gangetica, Diodia ocimifolia, Eleusine
indica and Paspalum conjugatum.
Keywords: Nano-emulsio esters, pesticides, sustainable agriculture
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