27 October - Exchange ceremony of Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Top Fruits Sdn. Bhd. was held at Everly Hotel, Putrajaya during the conference dinner of the 10th Asian-Australasian Conference on Precision Agriculture (ACPA 10). Institute of Plantation Studies (IKP) through Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ganesan Vadamalai (Head, Laboratory of Sustainable Agronomy and Crop Protection) has established a partnership with Top Fruits Sdn. Bhd. to conduct a study related to sustainable disease management for durian diseases caused by Phytophthora palmivora, which is a known threat to the durian industry.

Top Fruits Sdn. Bhd. which was founded in 1986 has the largest durian farms in Malaysia. Until now, Top Fruits Sdn. Bhd. has grown rapidly as a producer and exporter of frozen durian in Malaysia. The main goal of this MoA is to establish research and community collaboration where Top Fruits Sdn. Bhd. has agreed to provide a fund as much as RM200,000.00. The ceremony was attended by YBhg. Dato' Professor Dr. Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah (Vice Chancellor, UPM), YBhg. Prof. Dr. Shaufique Fahmi Ahmad Siddique (Director, IKP) and Dr. Tan Sue Sian (Director, Top Fruits Sdn. Bhd.).

Under this MoA, IKP researchers will provide training and knowledge-sharing sessions for Top Fruits farm staff, especially in carrying out routine disease observation in the field and control measures for durian diseases. It is hoped that this collaboration successfully gains a positive impact for both parties, UPM and the industry.

Date of Input: 29/12/2023 | Updated: 29/12/2023 | ainzubaidah