ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI ISOLATED FROM THE SOIL OF TERENGGANU, MALAYSIA AS POTENTIAL BIO-PESTICIDES AGAINST THE RED PALM WEEVIL, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus

Agriculture is an important industry which provides 11.1% of employment in Malaysia (World Fact Book, 2014). The top ten crop production in the year 2012 includes oil palm (117,560,180 tonnes), paddy (2,750,404 tonnes), rubber (970,000 tonnes), sugarcane (820,000 tonnes) and coconut (606,530 tonnes) (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2014). Among these, oil palm and coconut palm classified under Arecaceae family are commonly affected by the pest infestation. Rhinoceros beetle (Orytces rhinoceros), Red Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus), Coconut Leaf Beetle (Brontispa longissima) and Coconut Leaf Moth (Artona catoxantha) are some of the severe palm pests in Malaysia (Masilamany et al., 2012).