Every aspect of oil palm cultivation management is closely related to pests in the surrounding environment. Therefore, pest management is one of the priorities for the Company in carrying out its business processes. The Company applies Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to control oil palm pests and diseases. The IPM concept can sustainably reduce pest populations while posing no risk to the safety of humans, animals, and the environment. Overall, integrated pest management is a combination of biological and technical control. Biological control works by utilizing natural enemies from predators, parasitoids, and entomopathogens to naturally suppress pest populations to maintain the balance in the ecosystem and prevent pollution to the environment. Technical control will be used as a last resort if natural and biological controls are unable to significantly suppress pest populations. We employ digital mapping technology in an early observation system for Plant Pest Organisms (OPT) known as the “Early Warning System” (EWS) with the aim of obtaining data on pest populations, diseases, and the presence of natural enemies promptly and accurately. The EWS serves as the foundation for determining whether to exert further control.
In suppressing pest attacks, the Company strives to develop and introduce natural enemies into attack-prone areas. The Company utilizes predatory insects (Sycanus spp.) to suppress the Oil Palm Leaf-eating Caterpillars (UPDKS) population, breeds the fungus Metarhizium sp. for rhinoceros beetle pests, carries out preventive measures against Ganoderma attacks by applying the antagonistic fungus Trichoderma sp., and raises owls as natural predators of rodent pests.
