Effect of Drought Stress and Osmopriming on the Growth and Yield of Tadong Upland Rice in Sabah, Malaysia Robin Ah Hee Lim, Evelyn Shin Rou Koay, Mok Sam Lum Tropical Life Sciences Research, 2026 Drought stress remains one of the most significant challenges facing the development and production of upland rice. Seed osmopriming represents a method to enhance plant growth and offers potential against drought stress. This study aimed to investigate the effects of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 seed osmopriming and drought stress on the growth, yield, physiological and biochemical parameters of Tadong upland rice. The growth and yield of the Tadong upland rice variety were evaluated at five osmotic potentials using PEG 6000 for drought-induced osmopriming and at varying levels of drought stress with three soil moisture contents (SMC). Significant interaction effects between PEG 6000 osmotic potential levels and drought stress levels were observed across all measured parameters of Tadong upland rice. The combination of 20% SMC with -4 bar PEG proved optimal for growth and yield, showing a 55.68% increase compared to 10% SMC with -2 bar PEG, which produced the lowest yield per plant. Additional research should examine the effects of different PEG 6000 osmotic potential and drought stress levels on other upland rice varieties.
Effective microorganisms efficiently enhanced TR8 rice ( Oryza sativa L.) growth and yield performance under reduced N-fertilizer practice Clament Fui Seung Chin, Nur Diana Fitria binti Suhenra, Mok Sam Lum Iop Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science, 2026 Rice, being a daily staple food and commodity crop is continuously cultivated and consumed in Southeast Asia. Malaysia has set national rice self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) targets of 75% by 2025, and 80% by 2030 via the implementation of a two-year rice cultivation plan with five seasons. Sabah, being the second largest state in Malaysia, also aims to achieve 60% SSR by 2030. Meanwhile, the rice production in Sabah is projected to increase only from the current 23% to 37% if planted twice a year. Various challenges were presented in a recent review of the rice industry in Malaysia, emphasizing the importance of good agricultural practices and sustainable rice farming. The present study aims to evaluate the growth and yield performance of the TR8 lowland rice ameliorated with effective microorganisms under reduced nitrogen (N) fertilizer practice. A total of 30 pots comprising six treatments (T1 to T6) and five replicates arranged in a completely randomized design were used for data collection. Independent variables were the different rates of both inorganic N-fertilizer urea (60, 50, 40, 30, 20, and 0 kg/ha) and aqueous dilution of effective microorganisms 4 (EM-4) (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100%). Control variables were 30 kg/ha triple superphosphate, 30 kg/ha muriate of potash, planting medium, and agronomy practices. Retrieved data were analysed using the statistical analysis system (SAS 9.4), and significant differences between means were determined using the Least Significant Difference test at p<0.05. Results showed treatment (T4) with a half-reduced N rate (30 kg/ha) combined with EM-4 (60%) foliar application produced the fineness outcome on growth and yield performance in TR8 rice. Dependent variables including tiller number per plant (p=0.0211), productive tillers percentage (p=0.0438), panicle number per plant (p<0.0001), spikelet number per panicle (p<0.0001), grain number (p=0.0237) and grain weight (p<0.0001) per panicle, 1000 grain weight (p=0.0010), as well as yield per pot (p<0.0001) were significantly enhanced compared to the positive (T1, NPK 60:30:30 + 0% EM-4) and negative (T6, NPK 0:0:0 + 100% EM-4) controls. With an increase in yield and a reduction in synthetic fertilizer utilization, costs are lowered, and environmental impacts are mitigated. This approach represents a sustainable strategy for enhancing TR8 rice cultivation and promoting environmentally friendly farming practices.
Characterization of metabolic features derived from the non-polar metabolite UHPLC-QTOF dataset of Jaspis sp. Collected from the waters off Pulau Banggi, Sabah, Malaysia Dexter Jiunn Herng Lee, Yee-Soon Ling, Christopher Lok Yung Voo, Mok Sam Lum, Jualang Azlan Gansau Data in Brief, 2025 The marine biome is a rich source of bioactive compounds. The discovery of anti-cancer compounds in Cryptotheca crypta in 1950 initiated a wave of bioprospecting efforts focused on marine sponges. Jaspis sp., a marine sponge, has been reported to exhibit anti-cancer activity against human colorectal cancer. A sample of Jaspis sp., collected from the waters off Pulau Banggi, Sabah, Malaysia, was analyzed through a non-polar metabolite survey. The non-polar crude extract was profiled using UHPLC-QTOF in both positive and negative modes. The detected metabolic features were clustered, and representative features were tentatively identified through a combination of spectral database searches (using various MS2 spectral databases) and in silico compound identification. This dataset provides a valuable foundation for future bioprospecting endeavors involving Jaspis sp.
VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS), DIHYDROXYACETONE (DHA) AND METHYLGLYOXAL (MGO) IN TROPICAL MULTIFLORAL HONEY (APIDAE; APIS CERANA) FROM SITES OF DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL ORIGIN IN SABAH, BORNEO Malaysian Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2024
PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES, VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS, DIHYDROXYACETONE AND METHYLGLYOXAL CONTENT OF HETEROTRIGONA ITAMA (HYMENOPTERA; MELIPONINI) HONEY SAMPLES FROM DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS IN SABAH, BORNEO Malaysian Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2024
Mineral and heavy metal variations and contaminations in raw honey of stingless bees, Heterotrigona itama, from selected geographical areas of origin in Malaysia , Bellericter Binjamin, Mohd Iftar Johwan Johny @ Hasbullah, , Kimberly Ador, , Januarius Gobilik, , Clament Fui Seung Chin, , Mok Sam Lum, , Nurul’azah Mohd Yaakub, , Suzan Benedick, and Malaysian Journal of Nutrition, 2024 Introduction: Honey contains a complex matrix of different substances consisting of essential minerals, non-nutritive substances, and toxins, often due to environmental sources. The objectives of this study were i) to investigate the variation of mineral and heavy metal content in honey samples of Heterotrigona itama from different geographical origins, and ii) to evaluate the nutritional quality and safety of honey from different floral sources for human consumption. Methods: A total of 75 samples of raw H. itama honey were collected from 11 sites in Sabah, two sites in Sarawak, and two sites in Peninsular Malaysia. The mineral and heavy metal contents of honey were determined in triplicate using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results: There were significant differences in the composition of essential minerals and heavy metals in the honey samples according to geographical origins (p<0.001). All honey samples tested were below the permitted maximum proportion (ML) for cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) specified in the Malaysian Food Act 1983 for honey. However, all honey samples exceeded the ML for Pb set by Codex, with samples from bamboo sites having the highest levels for Pb. Conclusion: The composition of minerals and heavy metals in stingless bee honey was influenced by geographical origin. All measured Pb concentrations were above the ML value set by Codex, which raises concerns about possible toxicological risks to human health. Given the toxic nature of Pb in the environment, the measured concentrations emphasise the importance of monitoring Pb in honey from stingless bees.
Evaluation of the Growth and Yield of Upland Rice Varieties to Drought Stress Ferrelly Venom Sinton, Robin Ah Lim Hee, Lum Mok Sam Asian Journal of Plant Sciences, 2023 Background and Objective: Drought stress affects crop yield by more than 50%.The agronomic characteristics and yielding ability of different upland rice varieties collected in Sabah, Malaysia and to evaluate the response of upland rice varieties to drought stress at the flowering stage.Materials and Methods: There were seven upland rice varieties (Tadong, Kondoduvon, Tiga Bulan, Worik, Purak, Lombug, and Kalopak) and one lowland variety as control (Mahsuri) selected for this project.Water stress treatments (by adjusting soil moisture content, SMC) were conducted at the onset of the flowering stage.Results: The water stress treatments were T1 (control) (50% SMC), T2 (30% SMC) and T3 (15% SMC).From the application of drought treatments, Kondoduvon-T1 recorded the highest shoot dry mass of 153.57g.Tadong-T1 recorded the highest 1000-grain weight (34.80 g).Purak-T1 achieved the highest percentage of filled grain 92.08%.The extrapolated yield is significantly and positively correlated with the total number of tillers and most of the yield component parameters.Conclusion: Overall, the variety of Purak performed better under drought stress and achieved the highest extrapolated yield and thus suggested to be the best candidate for producing drought tolerant and high-yielding rice variety in the future.
Phytochemical Contents and Antioxidant Activity of Selected Brown Seaweeds (Sargassum polycystum and Padina minor) of Sabah, Malaysia Malaysian Journal of Chemistry, 2022
Assessment of pests and predators infestation, and the performance of honeybee (Apis cerana fabr.) colonies in langstroth modified beehives (lmb) Serangga, 2021
Aging effect on accumulation of sakuranetin in paddy plant after elicitation by silver nitrate Asia Pacific Journal of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, 2010
