Nor’AIshah Hasan

Soil fertility plays a crucial role in ensuring both the quality and quantity of agricultural crop production. However, determining the optimal parameters for regulating rice growth to enhance yield remains challenging, as the correlation between soil factors and rice yield has not been quantitatively assessed. The present work will examine the relationship between soil fertility and rice yield in Malaysia. A Pearson correlation matrix heatmap was employed to quantitatively evaluate the relationships between soil chemical properties and rice yield of two paddy seed varieties, UiTM 1 and UiTM 5, cultivated across three regions in Perak, Kedah, and Johor. Furthermore, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was utilised to elucidate the multivariate structure of soil fertility data and identify the dominant factors influencing yield variance. The results revealed that soil pH exhibited a stronger positive correlation with the yield of UiTM 5 (r = 0.66, p < 0.01) compared to UiTM 1 (r = 0.45, p > 0.05). In contrast, aluminium showed a stronger negative correlation with UiTM 5 (r = - 0.87, p < 0.01) than with UiTM 1 (r = - 0.78, p < 0.01), indicating a greater risk of aluminium toxicity in UiTM 5. The PCA identified two main components accounting for 78.2% of the total variance, suggesting that rice yield is strongly associated by the Soil Acidity and Cation Status Factor (PC2) rather than nitrogenous organic fertility alone. Among the five paddy fields studied, location A9 recorded the highest rice yields, with 9.29 mt/ha for UiTM 1 and 9.11 mt/ha for UiTM 5, which aligned with the optimal vector space for pH and cation exchange capacity in the PCA biplot. This superior performance may be attributed to the soil fertility at A9, which falls within the optimal critical range for rice cultivation. The integration of correlation and multivariate analyses demonstrates that managing soil acidity and aluminium toxicity is a critical consideration for optimising productivity. Understanding these relationships provides valuable insights for improving soil management practices and enhancing rice production sustainability in Malaysia.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the influence of organisational values, guided by the IDART framework – Ilmu (knowledge), Disiplin (discipline), Amanah (trustworthiness), Rajin (diligence) and Tanggungjawab (responsibility) – on employee performance among academic and administrative staff at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 1,933 academic and administrative employees across multiple states and job grades participated in a survey. The research instrument demonstrated strong internal reliability (a = 0.827–0.963), confirming its applicability within the Malaysian higher education context. Data were analysed using chi-square and Kruskal–Wallis H tests to examine differences across staff categories and job grades. Findings: The results revealed statistically significant variations in the expression of organisational values across staff categories and job grades. Academic staff were more engaged in knowledge-sharing and proactive responsibility, while administrative staff prioritised compliance and interpersonal harmony. Senior academics (VK7–VK5) and mid-level administrators (Grades 48–52) reported lower alignment in diligence, responsibility and discipline, possibly due to strategic responsibilities or role ambiguity. These patterns support transformational leadership and person–organisation fit theories, highlighting role-specific influences on value alignment. Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to UiTM employees and may not fully represent other higher education institutions in Malaysia or beyond. Further research could expand the sample to include diverse institutional contexts and explore longitudinal effects of organisational values on performance. Practical implications: Findings highlight the need for differentiated professional development programs that cater to the unique engagement gaps of senior and mid-tier personnel. Institutions can design value-based training and leadership initiatives that reinforce responsibility, discipline, and diligence across varying roles. Social implications: By promoting values-based governance in higher education, the study underscores the societal importance of cultivating trustworthiness, discipline and responsibility within academic communities. Strengthening these values can enhance institutional credibility, social cohesion, and long-term contributions to national development. Originality/value: This research provides one of the first empirical applications of the IDART framework within Malaysian higher education. Its culturally grounded approach offers novel insights into values-based governance and contributes to the discourse on how organisational values shape employee performance and institutional transformation.

Rice blast disease, caused by the pathogenic fungus Magnaporthe oryzae , poses a significant threat to global rice production, particularly impacting the high-value Mahsuri variety cultivated in Malaysia. Despite the extensive genetic diversity within Oryza sativa germplasm that offers potential source of resistance, genome-level variations in distinguished resistant and susceptible Mahsuri genotypes remain unexplored. Addressing this gap, the present study employed whole-genome resequencing to elucidate the molecular basis of blast resistance in Mahsuri rice. Whole-genome sequences of a blast-resistant Mahsuri Mutant and its susceptible parent genotype were generated, a total of 116 million reads, with sequencing coverage of 23.91X and 21.76X, respectively. Bioinformatic analyses using SAMtools identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertions and deletions (InDels) between the two rice lines, with comparative genomic analysis against the Japonica reference genome revealing a higher variant count in the Mahsuri mutant (4,096,071) than in the parent (4,024,223). Notably, 178,622 SNPs were detected within exonic regions, underscoring their potential impact on protein function and their association with enhanced blast resistance observed in the mutant line. Further genomic analysis identified unique SNPs in several key candidate genes associated with blast resistance, including Pit , Pi64 , Pish , Pi21 , Piz , Pikm and Pi-ta , providing valuable molecular markers for marker-assisted selection. This comprehensive genomic analysis deepens our understanding of the genetic architecture underlying blast resistance in the Mahsuri rice, facilitating more precise and efficient identification of candidate genes to accelerate breeding programs aimed at developing resilient rice varieties for sustainable cultivation in Malaysia and beyond.

Genetic diversity has been pivotal in unleashing the roles of genes and traits in crop productivity and resistance ability against multiple stresses. In this study, the main objective was to investigate the genetic variation of six local aromatic rice varieties in Malaysia for twelve agronomic characters by using multivariate analysis, viz., genetic parameters, correlation analysis, path coefficient analysis and cluster analysis. The results illustrated that the phenotypic coefficient of variance (PCV) was higher than the genotypic coefficient of variance (GCV) for all characters, despite small differences in values among them. All the characters also revealed a high heritability index (h2 b) except for the length of the panicle. Five characters, namely plant height, number of tillers, number of panicles, weight of 1000 grains and number of unfilled grains per panicle, possessed both a high heritability index and genetic advance as percentage of mean (GA%). These five characters could be used as primary selection criteria for future rice hybridisation or improvisation of the sole aromatic variety. As for the correlation analysis, the number of filled grains per panicle and the length of the seed illustrated a strong correlation and a positive direct effect on the yield rate per plant. According to UPGMA cluster analysis, the varieties were clustered into three groups. Rice variety in Cluster III (MRQ 76 and MRQ 104) and II (MRQ74, MRQ88 and MRQ103) could be considered for further hybridisation to attain a wide spectrum of variation as well as the greatest performance in agronomic performance.

Paddy fields in Malaysia have been affected by rice blast disease since the early years of rice cultivation, and it continue to suffer from its devastating effects due to the rapid evolution of the causal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. Although Malaysia is home to various local indica rice, the potential for resistance among these resources remains limited. This study aims to investigate the distribution of blast resistance genes in Malaysian rice cultivars and to categorize them into clusters based on genetic similarities. We extracted DNA from 75 rice accessions and performed molecular genotyping for four blast resistance genes (denoted as Pi) using allele-specific functional markers: the major genes Pi33 (RM72) and Pi27(t) (RM259), as well as the minor genes pi21 (RM1359) and Pi26 (RM413). The results of this profiling analysis were used to construct a hierarchical dendrogram for cluster analysis. The findings revealed that Pi33 had the highest distribution frequency at 60.00%, followed by Pi27(t) at 49.33%, Pi26 at 34.67%, and pi21 at 21.33%. All rice accessions were grouped into eight clusters, with four accessions, viz., Malinja, Bahagia, Serendah, and Bario, classified together in Cluster 8 for harboring 100% of the Pi genes. Meanwhile, Cluster 1 included 17 candidates with the highest similarity to the widely used resistant variety IR64. In conclusion, this study provides a framework for marker-assisted breeding to develop blast-resistant rice cultivars with multigenic resistance, contributing to sustainable rice production in Malaysia.

Cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles have been synthesised (NPs) via the sol-gel method. Colocasia esculenta (C. esculenta) stalk extract is employed as a green reducing and capping agent during the production. The different precursor concentrations (0.06–0.30 mol/L) are examined to prepare the NPs which exhibited an absorption band at 216 nm. Using X-ray diffraction technique, the average crystallite size of synthesised CeO2 is found to be 6.44 nm. Transmission electron microscopy images revealed that the NPs are spherical. High-intensity peaks corresponding to cerium (Ce) and oxygen (O) during energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy assessments, confirm CeO2 NPs production. The Fourier-transform infrared evaluations also indicated Ce-O stretching and the absence of O-N-O bending in the NPs. Furthermore, the findings demonstrated that the synthesised CeO2 NPs exhibited susceptibility against all bacteria, except Bacillus subtilis.

N the past decade, open-air burning of rice husks has negatively impacted the environment and human health, particularly in developing and underdeveloped nations. Consequently, the present study established a sustainable and environmentally friendly method of manufacturing zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) from Oryza sativa rice husks using different concentrations of the precursor. The ZnO NPs obtained were analysed with an ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer, which revealed a characteristic ZnO NPs band at 410 nm. Based on Debye-Scherrer’s equation, the ZnO NPs crystallites had a mean size of 20 nm. The Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of the ZnO NPs were determined within the 400 to 4000 cm−1 range. The peak at 487 cm−1 indicated that a Zn-O bond was formed. A developed material further evaluated the antibacterial effectiveness of ZnO NPs against four harmful bacteria, demonstrating a moderate level of effectiveness. The findings indicated that all the tested bacteria exhibited heightened susceptibility to ZnO NPs at a higher concentration of 250 μg/mL.

Zirconium oxide nanoparticles (ZrO2 NPs) were synthesized with an effective capping agent using aqueous extract of Chlorentus erectus at the optimized conditions. The aqueous leaf extract contained phytochemical compounds that could regulate the size and shape of the nanoparticles. The average size of C. erectus-ZrO2 NPs crystallite was 10.42 nm, which was determined based on Scherrer Debye’s equation. The finding indicated the effectiveness of the phytochemical compounds to diminish the agglomeration of the particles. The C. erectus mediated ZrO2 NPs were in spherical clusters when observed through a transmission electron microscope (TEM). An elemental energy diffraction X-ray (EDX) assessment also revealed a significant zirconium and oxygen percentage, suggesting that the phytochemicals present in the leaf extract did not alter the purity of C. erectus-ZrO2 NPs. Moreover, 200 µg/mL of synthesized ZrO2 NPs effectively inhibited K. pneumoniae. Up to 300 µg/mL of C. erectus- ZrO2 NPs demonstrated non-toxicity to vero cells and low antiviral properties against the DENV-2 virus when introduced to cells post-infection.