Non-volant Rodent Abundance And Damage, Diet Preference And Control Using Anticoagulant Rodenticide In Oil Palm Plantation, Sungkai, Perak.

• मुख्य लेखक: Zaludin, Muhammad Syafiq Mohd
• स्वरूप: थीसिस
• भाषा: अंग्रेज़ी
• प्रकाशित: 2024
• विषय: QH1-278.5 Natural history (General)
• ऑनलाइन पहुंच: http://eprints.usm.my/62348/

Rodent pests cause significant economic loss to the oil palm industry, necessitating a deep understanding of their species distribution, behaviour and effective control methods. A total of 132 rodents were captured through live trapping in Sungkai Perak, with 82.58% being Malaysian house rats (Rattus rattus diardii). Physical measurements of male and female R. rattus diardii showed no differences. Average measurements were weight 158.73±4.63g, head-to-body length 136.73±2.99mm, tail length 169.51±3.24mm, ear length 20.68±0.20mm, hindfoot length 32.64±0.29mm, and upper incisor teeth 2.86±0.04mm. This study evaluated the relationship between R. rattus diardii population size, fresh fruit bunch (FFB) availability, and damage to ripe and unripe oil palm FFB. A significant positive relationship was found between trap success and FFB damage (Pearson correlation: r = 0.628, p < 0.001). Ripe FFB had a higher mean damage (7.72 ± 0.66%) compared to unripe FFB (6.01 ± 0.38%), but the difference was not statistically significant (Independent samples t-test: P>0.05). In lab tests, R. rattus diardii showed the highest diet preference for bananas, with an 83.84% acceptance rate and a feeding ratio of 1:5 compared to oil palm loose fruits. This suggests intercropping of oil palm with bananas can attract rats to oil palm fields, but banana can also be considered for developing palatable baits for rodent control. Next, rodenticide bait efficacy was evaluated by fresh rat damage on FFB, bait acceptance, and trap success.