Selontra® 0.075 Supports Sustainable Development of the Palm Oil Sector

Palm oil is a very strategic plantation crop, which as a plant with high economic value, a source of community income, increasing employment opportunities, increasing non-oil and gas export revenues by 32.2 million tons of CPO or the equivalent of 30.3 million USD (the value of palm oil exports is greater from the export value of agricultural products excluding palm oil. Source: GAPKI, 2023), as a source of basic food ingredients, as well as a means of preserving nature and the environment, including conservation of ground water sources, prevention of landslides, production of oxygen (O₂), absorption of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and as a renewable fuel source, namely bio-diesel, which will increase significantly as the implementation of the national energy policy.

Apart from that, oil palm plantations also have a high CO₂ absorption capacity (251.9 tons/ha/year, Source: Directorate General of Plantation, Ministry of Agriculture 2010). This is very useful in reducing CO₂ concentrations in the air due to increasing greenhouse gases which cause climate change on earth. In nature, the increase in greenhouse gases is driven by increasing CO₂ emissions which traps solar energy in the atmosphere, therefore increasing atmospheric temperatures. In the Eco-physiological aspect, it turns out that oil palm brings benefits because of its CO₂ fixation ability, O₂ production ability (183.2 tons/ha/year) and high biomass (C).

Rats are one of the important pests in oil palm plantations with the highest risk of attack when opening new plantations. The damage caused by mice can be in the form of cuts on the midrib to the growing point in the seedling phase to immature plants (TBM ), or damage to flowers and fruit on mature plants (TM). Rat attacks on fruit can cause a decrease in the quality and quantity of fresh fruit bunches and the yield of oil produced. At heavy attack intensity in the TBM, rat attacks have the potential to cause a reduction in oil palm productivity in the first TM of up to 24% (Chung et al., 2020).

Rat control can be done chemically using rodenticides or biologically using natural enemies, or by integrating the two. Control using rodenticides is generally carried out if the level of damage caused by rat attacks in the field is severe. Rodenticides used to control rat pests must be safe against predators such as owls (Susanto et al., 2015; Noor, 2020). Rodenticides commonly used by palm oil entrepreneurs are from groups 1 and 2 such as Coumatetralyl, Warfarin, Brodifacoum and others, which are anti-coagulant rodenticides which, when used continuously, can cause resistance and secondary poisoning effects on rodent predators.

To answer this challenge, BASF has launched the new rodenticide Selontra^® 0.075 RB with the natural active ingredient Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) which does not cause negative impacts on rat predators, namely Owls (Tyto alba), which is in line with the RSPO principles for sustainable rat pest control.

Selontra^® 0.075 RB is supported by new technology and contains active ingredients that can make rat lose their appetite for food and then "stop eating" (stop feeding) after consuming a sufficient dose, so that rat do not cause new damage to Fresh Fruit Bunches (TBS), where the advantages of stop feeding are not shared by other rodenticides. Rats will eat enough Selontra bait and leave more for the colony to eat, thus controlling rats in one colony.

Selontra^® 0.075 RB is also very effective for controlling rats that are resistant to anticoagulant rodenticides. It has a very high palatability and has even been proven to be preferred by rats to eat even when cold food is available. With excellent resistance to abnormal weather conditions, it can survive for a long time in the open air.

Apart from that, in the midst of difficulties in finding labor, Selontra^® 0.075 RB provides benefits with just one application during the rat control campaign period compared to rodenticides at attacks below 10%, thus providing efficiency in operational costs. Palm oil entrepreneurs can allocate this labor to other activities such as harvesting and plant maintenance.

Selontra^® 0.075 RB has a very environmentally friendly profile (Green product) and is a sustainable alternative product for controlling rat pests. It minimizes the risk of poisoning other non-target animals. For rat control, Selontra^® is safe to use together with owls in accordance with RSPO Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles.

In addition to providing solutions through Selontra^®, BASF’s Agricultural Solutions team in Indonesia has also provided training for customers on how to effectively control rats and to properly apply Selontra^®. The trainings were held in July 2023 for Austindo Nusantara Jaya & Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd in Belitung Island; August 2023 for Sinar Mas Oil Palm/ SMARTRI in Bangka Island; December 2023 for THIP Plantation in North Sumatera; and January 2024 for Samsung Group in Riau.

By helping to provide solutions and actions, BASF hopes to participate in a future with an emphasis on responsible and sustainable sourcing regarding palm oil consumption across the industries.

Class Training Selontra®  with General Manager, R&D Team, Estate Manager and Supervisors.