IMAGE-SCANNING APPROACH IN MONITORING OIL PALM ROOT PRODUCTION ON PEAT
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21894/jopr.2026.0004
Received: 5 September 2024 Accepted: 13 October 2025 Published Online: 13 January 2026
Understanding root mortality and production is critical for creating a uniform strategy for root growth estimations and modelling. Several approaches have been devised to assess root development and behaviour of oil palms in peat soil. There are two types of existing techniques: Traditional (destructive) methods and non-destructive approaches. However, due to the complexity of soil characteristics and circumstances, there is no precise method to date for assessing different root morphological features, particularly in tropical peat soil. The root dynamics performance of oil palms in peat soil was measured using a non-destructive, in situ scanning approach in this study. This study discusses the possibility of utilising image-scanning technology for investigating rhizosphere activities such as root development and turnover, root morphology and belowground interactions.
KEYWORDS:1 Malaysian Palm Oil Board,
6, Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi,
43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.
2 Faculty of Resource Science and Technology,
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak,
94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia.
* Corresponding author e-mail: elisa@mpob.gov.my