Journal of Pest Science (2022) 95, 1009-1022

Cik Mohd Rizuan Zainal Abidin, Hafidzi Mohd Noor, Noor Hisham Hamid, Shakinah Ravindran, Chong Leong Puan, Azhar Kasim and Hasber Salim (2022)
Comparison of effectiveness of introduced barn owls, Tyto javanica javanica, and rodenticide treatments on rat control in oil palm plantations
Journal of Pest Science 95 (2), 1009-1022
Abstract: In Peninsular Malaysia, barn owls (Tyto javanica javanica) have been utilized as biological control of rats since the 1960s. In this study, the impact of introduced barn owls on rat populations in an oil palm plantation in Sabah, Malaysia, were studied. There were three treatment areas in this study: T1 (barn owl area) was an oil palm plot where no rodenticides were applied and rat control relied solely on predation of the introduced barn owls, T2 was an oil palm plot where one fixed baiting campaign was carried out per year, and T3 was an oil palm plot where two fixed baiting campaigns were carried out per year. Rat abundance and fresh fruit bunch (FFB) damage were assessed monthly throughout the four-year study period. The dominant species at all treatment areas was the House rat, Rattus rattus diardii. Both rat abundance and FFB damage were higher in the first year of study at all three treatment areas. FFB damage was lowest at T3 compared to the other two treatment areas throughout the entire study period, probably due to the intensive baiting carried out at T3. FFB damage at T1 was comparable to FFB damage at T2 (with the exception of the first year of study). Additionally, FFB damage at T1 after the first year was frequently below the 5% FFB damage threshold level. The results of this study indicate that introduced barn owl control of rat pests was sufficient for at least three years and perhaps more.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Chong Leong Puan

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
control - general
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
evaluation - screening - selection

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Rattus rattus	Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis)	Malaysia
Tyto javanica (predator)	Rattus rattus	Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis)	Malaysia