10th Agriculture Technology Seminar a replicated success

(Source: http://www.utar.edu.my/econtent_sub.jsp?fcatid=16&fcontentid=15064)

UTAR Centre for Biodiversity Research (CBR), Faculty of Science and Institute of Postgraduate Studies and Research (IPSR) jointly organised a successful Agriculture Technology Seminar titled �"Emerging Pests and Pesticide Resistance in Malaysia."

This 10th series of the Agriculture and Technology seminar attracted over 160 participants comprising researchers from local and abroad, staff, students, industry consultants and sponsors to present and discuss their expertise and research findings on topics ranging from plants to poultry. The seminar was held at UTAR Perak Campus on 14 November 2014.

�"I'm proud that this seminar is held for the 10th time since its debut in April 2010 and well received by sponsors such as KLK Berhad as well as the participants". remarked Advisor to the Organising Committee Assoc Prof Dr Say Yee How, who also extended his warm welcome to the speakers as well as participants.

Keynote speaker Dr Madonna C. Casimero from the International Rice Research Institute of Myanmar Office started the ball rolling. Through her talk titled "The Weedy Rice Saga: Battling with the Close Cousin of Rice", Dr Madonna highlighted the great damage brought by the proliferation of "Padi Angin", as it is known locally, to rice fields in Malaysia, Thailand and even across the globe. �"In 2005, economic loss due to weedy rice was estimated to be 25 million USD per year in Malaysia". she mentioned and emphasised that until a good integrated weed management strategy is developed, the battle to control this weedy rise would remain an uphill battle.

Discussions related to papaya were also brought up by two following speakers. Former Senior Research Fellow of Malaysian Agricultural and Research Institute Dr Chan Ying Kwok presented his findings titled �"Breeding for Resistance against Bacteria Die Back (Erwinia papayae) on Papaya in Malaysia". This was followed by Organising Chairman Prof Dr Ooi Aun Chuan�es presentation titled "An Exotic Insect Pest of Papaya and Suggestion for Its Management" which reported the discovery of the papaya mealybug, a native insect of Central and South America, in Kampar in 2013.

Weed Management Consultant Chung Gait Fee presented a paper on weeds of plantations and their management in general, herbicide resistance, summary of herbicide resistance in Malaysia and different approaches to handle herbicide resistant biotypes in plantations. Co-owner-cum-Consultant of Vet. Biotech Dr Chong Sung Fook was the following speaker who spoke about "Antibiotic Resistance and Vaccination Failures in Poultry Farming".

Veterinary Research Institute Research Officer Syamsyiah Aini Shohaimi with her paper titled "Emerging and Re-emerging of Avian Diseases in Malaysia" pointed out the viral poultry diseases such as Avian Influenza (AI) and Newcastle Disease (ND) as highly contagious and can lead to huge economic losses to poultry production.

Prof Ooi summarized the presentations of the seminar and extended his gratitude to sponsor KLK Berhad and Medigene Sdn Bhd for the support. "The purpose of this seminar is to identify problems plaguing the agriculture industry and to find solutions because we simply can�et dismiss the problems". he said.

Dean of Faculty of Science Assoc Prof Dr Lim Tuck Meng gave a closing remark, saying that seminar, being a success again is a concerted effort by the organising committee. �"We've gone a long way to continue the tradition of holding this seminar which discusses many agriculture-related issues. In fact, there are so many issues to discuss and explore that this seminar should be continued" said Dr Lim, who added that such continuous effort would bear fruit as there will be more understanding about agriculture, which is vital for the survival of the human race.

A participant of the seminar, Amaran s/o Raman from Iris Agrotech Sdn Bhd said that the seminar has enriched his knowledge in pest control as well as learning about some solutions which could be useful to his work.

Dr Say welcoming the speakers and participant

Clockwise from top left) Dr Madonna, Dr Chan, Chung, Syamsiah, Dr Chong and Prof Ooi

Dr Lim presenting a token of appreciation to moderators Dr Tan Swee Lian (up) and Assoc Prof Dr Tee Chong Siang

Dr Lim receiving a token of appreciation from Prof Ooi

Group photo of the speakers and participants

NPFASS returns!

(Source: http://www.utar.edu.my/econtent_sub.jsp?fcatid=16&fcontentid=10652)

The UTAR National Postgraduate Fundamental and Applied Sciences Seminar (NPFASS) made another comeback this year from 14 to 15 June 2014 at UTAR Perak Campus.

Held for the second time since 2013, the successful seminar was jointly organised by UTAR Centre for Biodiversity Research (CBR), Faculty of Science and Institute of Postgraduate Studies and Research (IPSR). NPFASS this year saw more 50 presenters comprising postgraduate students from local public and private institutions of higher learning converging at the award-winning campus for presentations of their R&D findings and experiences of their studies, ranging from chemical to biological sciences.

The Chairman of the NPFASS 2014 Organising Committee Ng Wen Jie expressed his gratitude to the speakers, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the many sponsors for the support to NPFASS.

In his officiating address, Faculty of Science Deputy Dean (R&D and Postgraduate Programmes) Assoc Prof Dr Tee Chong Siang congratulated the organising committee for making the seminar possible and extended a warm welcome to the presenters and participants.

The invited keynote speakers for the one-and-half day seminar included Assoc Prof Dr Leong Weng Kee from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, Prof Dr Alexander Chong from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Dr Chan Kok Gan, Prof Dr Ramesh a/l T Subramaniam and Prof Dr Emeritus Yong Hoi Sen from University of Malaya (UM) who shared with the audience insights of their promising discoveries from years of dedication in R&D.

First keynote speaker Dr Leong got the ball rolling with his talk entitled "Organometallic Clusters - A Personal Journey From Chemistry To Biology and Nanoscience", which was also a sponsored plenary lecture by RSC. Dr Leong took the audience through his personal journey in organometallic clusters research, from the "classical" synthesis and structural studies, through his and other researchers' attempts at reinvigoration through its applications in the biomedical and nanometrical sciences.

"Fatty Fish, Small Fish, Big Fish" was the following keynote lecture delivered by Prof Dr Chong, who spoke on long-chained unsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) and explained the challenges of sustaining a dependable source of these fatty acids through proper and responsible aquaculture. Prof Chong also discussed the potential of zebrafish, which is a long-time model for genetics and developmental biology as a tool to understand the biosynthesis and the role of LC-PUFA.

Dr Chan delivered his lecture entitled "Unleashing The Power of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS): Solving The Mystery in Microbial & Human Genomes, Metagenomes and Microbiomes" by introducing the roles and immense benefits of NGS as a technology of sequencing in today's biological research as well as the finding on human microbiome that uncover unique microbial diversity and genes functions.

"Influence of Silicon/Silver Based Oxides Functionality on Polymer Electrolyte Properties" was presented by fourth keynote speaker Prof Ramesh on the following day. The UM professor from the Department of Physics elaborated the studies demonstrating the effect of incorporation of two different functional amphoteric nanofillers into the triblock acrylate-based copolymer electrolytes.

The closing keynote lecture was "Genetics and Systematics of Murine Rodents" by Prof Yong, who explained that understanding the genetics and systematics of the two species of Murine rodents - Rattusnorvegicus and Musmusculus - which are widely used as laboratory animals for research experiments, are vital in relation to their control and management.

NPFASS 2014, mainly sponsored by RSC and Perkin Elmer Sdn Bhd, concluded with a prize giving ceremony to winners of the oral and poster presentations. List of winners (in alphabetical order) as follows:

Oral Presentation:
• Eliza Loo Po-Iian, UTAR, Development of An Acetosyringone-Inducible Gene Expression System for Agrobacterium tumefaciens
• Lim Yan-Lue, University of Malaya, The Language of Serratia fonticola - A Multilingual Bacteria
• Robson Ee, University of Malaya, Mystery in Pandoraea Cystic Fibrosis Infection Solved?

Poster Presentation:
• Chong Teik Min, University of Malaya, Heavy Metal Resistance of a French Vineyard Soil Bacterium Pseudomonas mendocina strain S5.2, revealed by Single Molecule Real-Time Sequencing
• Goh Kai Wey, UTAR, y-Synuclein Possesses Pro-Invasive and Pro-Apoptotic Properties in the Colon Adenocarcinoma LS 174T Cell Line
• Ho Lai Yee, UTAR, Preliminary Screenings of the Larvicidal Bioefficacy of three Aromatic Plant Extracts against Aedes albopictus
• Thilaga Rati Selvaraju, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Effects of Vitamin E in the Prevention of Glutamate Induced Injury in Astrocytes
• Toh Wai Keat, UTAR, Development of a Novel Protein Delivery System in Agrobacterium Tumefaciens

Ng welcoming the participants

Dr Tee delivering his welcome address

The keynote speakers (clockwise from top left): Dr Leong, Prof Ramesh, Prof Dr Chong, Prof Yong and Dr Chan

Visitors at the poster exhibition

The winners of both oral and poster presentations posing with keynote speakers and NPFASS 2014 organisers. (back row) From left: Dr Leong, Prof Yong, Chong, Dean of UTAR Faculty of Science Assoc Prof Dr Lim Tuck Meng, Ng, Lim and Ee; (front row) Goh, Ho, Thilaga, Loo and Toh

Agriculture Seminar another success

(Source: http://www.utar.edu.my/econtent_sub.jsp?fcatid=16&fcontentid=10638)

The 9th series of the Agriculture Technology Seminar entitled "Linking Agriculture and Food Science" was successfully held at the Faculty of Science, UTAR Perak Campus on 31 May 2014.

Organised by the Centre for Biodiversity Research, the Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK) Berhad-sponsored seminar once again became a platform where more than 100 participants enriched themselves with input of agriculture and food science knowledge from an array of seasoned speakers. The speakers included KLK Berhad Regional Director (Peninsular Malaysia) Teh Sar Moh Nee, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Food Science Department Prof Dr Aminah binti Abdullah and Prof Dr Abdul Salam bin Babji, Ayamas Food Corporation Sdn Bhd President Dr Kooi Eng Teong, Universiti Sains Malaysia Dean of School of Industrial Technology Prof Dr Azhar Mat Easa and Nestle Manufacturing (M) Sdn Bhd Agricultural Services Officer Chong Chin Yin.

"The theme of the seminar this time is timely as we just inaugurated our Food Science programme last week," said Chairperson of UTAR Centre for Biodiversity Research Assoc Prof Dr Say Yee How, who also extended his warm welcome to all guests and thanked the organising committee for making this seminar a success.

Dr Say addressing the audience

UTAR Vice President (R&D and Commercialisation) Prof Ir Dr Lee Sze Wei in his welcoming address, expressed his delight to be present at the successful seminar once again. "As a layman in agriculture, it interests me to know the future of food supply, the safety of food and its sustainability," he continued.

Prof Lee delivering his welcome remarks

Teh, the first speaker, shared with the audience the bountiful benefits of palm oil through his presentation entitled "The Palm Oil Industry - Nature's Best Kept Secret?". "Palm oil is a top-selling vegetable oil in the world and contains the highest percentage of tocotrienols which are members of the vitamin E family and considered an essential nutrient for the body. A two-year study has also discovered that vitamin E from Malaysian palm oil can protect the white matters in our brains," he said.

"Is Sensory Evaluation Necessary in Food Product Development" was the following topic presented by Prof Aminah. She highlighted the sensory evaluation conducted by food industries, research institutes and local institutions of higher learning, which also included problems associated when conducting sensory evaluation. "The sensory research in Malaysia is still at an infant stage but our government has realised the importance of sensory evaluation for food industries and subsequently developed several standards related to sensory evaluation based on the International Organisation of Standards so as to be on par with developed countries."

This was followed by Prof Abdul Salam's "R&D and Food Product Development from Meat, Poultry and Fish Supply Chain Management throughout Upstream and Downstream Processing" which enabled the audience to understand the challenges faced by meat processors and technologists. "The challenges include the search for consistent supply of raw materials and making sure that the quality and safety of the final products are made available to consumers. Traceability of food additives used in the meat processing industry is still a major obstacle for different religious communities looking for safe and wholesome food," he shared.

In Dr Kooi's "Poultry Integration: From Farm to Fork" presentation, the participants learnt about Ayamas Food Corporation Sdn Bhd's pivotal role as the country's biggest integrated poultry operators through supplying halal chicken meat to fast food chains such as KFC, Pizza Hut and to other domestic market as well as export markets such as Singapore, Bangladesh, Brunei, Hong Kong and Mauritius. "In Ayamas, there is also poultry breeding, hatchery, feed mill, poultry farming, contract broiler farming and processing. Such integrated production and supply chain is an advantage to Ayamas and its consumers because every process is fully controlled to ensure the safety and quality of the products."

Prof Azhar's "Innovation in Food Sciences = Wealth Creation in Agriculture" illustrated the properties of ulam and Ulam Raja Extract (UREX). According to him, UREX is a potent natural antioxidant that can be used to improve the shelf life of meat products against lipid and protein oxidation. "Traditionally, the Malays have been eating fresh ulam as salad. Although the shift in eating pattern of consumers today makes it less convenient for them to regularly consume ulam, UREX, in future, can be produced as capsules or combined with other fruits or extracts rich in antioxidants for various commercial purposes," he summarised.

"Since 2001, Nestle has extended agricultural activities to include sustainability practices, as exemplified by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative- Nestle (SAI-N). Nestle now emphasises on social and environment factors in the way agricultural activities are conducted," shared Chong during his "Sustainable Agriculture Initiatives - Nestle" presentation. The Agriculture Services Officer also elaborated the background and rationale of both SAI-N and CSV (Creating Shared Value), a term coined by Nestle which means benefitting all parties in Nestle's supply chain through true sustainability.

Year Two Agriculture student Muhd Ihsan bin Firman said that the seminar has helped him in his studies and also in writing reports. "I have been attending the seminar since my first year. All of these seminar series allow me to understand the industry better and even enable me to think deeper about certain pressing issues. Milk production in Malaysia is one of them," said the 24-year-old from Malacca, who also aspires to open his farm one day.

While giving the closing remark, Dean of Faculty of Science Assoc Prof Dr Lim Tuck Meng expressed his joy over the success of this seminar which is now held for the ninth time since its debut in 2010. He also mentioned that the faculty has reached another milestone by inaugurating the Food Science programme recently. "Hopefully this seminar will be a continuing success with even more speakers coming to share their findings with our students from the Agricultural Science and Food Science programmes," he concluded.

Dr Lim delivering his closing remarks

The speakers receiving tokens of appreciations - (clockwise from top left) Teh receiving a token from Dr Lim (right), Prof Aminah receiving a token from Dr Say (right), Prof Abdul Salam, Dr Kooi, Prof Azhar and Chong accepting the tokens from Dr Lim.

"Hopper Race" seminar a learning platform

(Source: http://www.utar.edu.my/econtent_sub.jsp?fcatid=16&fcontentid=9383)

A brown planthopper and pest-themed agricultural science seminar was successfully held at Room A003 Heritage Hall, UTAR Perak Campus on 2 March 2014.

The seminar, entitled "Hopper Race" (sharing the name of TVE Japan's latest documentary), was under the joint auspices of UTAR Centre for Biodiversity Research, Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP) and TVE Japan. The seminar also saw the active participation of staff and students from UTAR Faculty of Science learning from seasoned agriculturists; namely, UTAR Chair of Agricultural Science Prof Dr Ooi Aun Chuan who is also the Organising Chairman, Executive Director of PAN AP Sarojeni V. Rengam and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences Prof Dr Norela Sulaiman. Also present was the producer of the "Hopper Race" documentary Juka Kawaai from TVE Japan.

UTAR Centre for Biodiversity Research Chairperson Assoc Prof Dr Say Yee How welcomed everyone to UTAR Perak Campus and also to the seminar. This was followed by Prof Dr Ooi who started the ball rolling by presenting his findings entitled "Rice Planthopper Outbreaks and Contributing Factors and Biodiversity-based Ecological Agricultural Solutions" which gave the audience a better understanding of the current view of the biology of the rice brown planthopper, the causes of outbreaks, the diversity of natural predators and the ways to minimise outbreaks through education. According to Prof Dr Ooi, in Malaysia the research on these pests indicated that the use of insecticides actually does more harm than good as natural predators of the rice brown planthoppers are killed, thus promoting the growth of the planthoppers population. "The only way to prevent rice brown planthopper outbreaks is to help the farmers to understand the effectiveness of natural enemies. Regulations will not work if the farmers do not understand the role of biological control agents," he elaborated.

Sarojeni's presentation entitled "Impacts of Pesticides on Health and the Environment" also complemented Prof Dr Ooi's earlier presentation on the unfavourable effects of insecticides. "There is a need for stronger regulation, awareness building and efforts to warn the users about the externalities associated with insecticides," she concluded.

The last presentation entitled "System of Rice Intensification and Benefits" was by Prof Dr Norela who spoke on the studies conducted by UKM in rice intensification and the need to avoid insecticide for sustainable rice production.

"Hopper Race", which was scripted, directed and edited by Juka was then played to the absorbed audience. The 60-minute documentary highlighted the threats posed by rice planthopper to rice production in Asia, where rice is the staple diet for most of its population which exceeds more than 4 billion. The one-day seminar ended with Dean of Faculty of Science Assoc Prof Dr Lim Tuck Meng extending his thanks and appreciation to the organiser, the speakers and participants for ensuring the success of the "Hopper Race" seminar.

Prof Dr Ooi presenting his findings

Sarojeni talking on "Impacts of Pesticides on Health and the Environment"

Prof Dr Norela on her "System of Rice Intensification and Benefits" presentation

Dr Lim (third from right) together with the speakers and participants of the seminar