The Mata Ayer Field Center was established in 1974 under the Pinus caribaea Seed Improvement Program at the Mata Ayer Forest Reserve in Perlis The Mata Ayer forest Reserve lies between the latitude 60° 4’ N and longitude 100° 15’ E. .It is located in compartment 23 of the Mata Ayer Forest Reserve, Jalan Padang Besar, Perlis. The forest reserve covers an area of 455 ha. Generally the topography is flat and drained by the Sungai Chucor. The elevation of the area is 30m above sea level.
In 1960 a nursery was setup followed by an office and staff quarters in 1976. Prior to this the area was mainly covered with secondary forest comprising of Hopea odorata, Anisoptera scapula, Dipterocarpus spp, Euginea spp., Lauraceae spp., Crypeteronia spp., Sandoricum koetjape, Vitex spp. and scaterd with Bamboo spp. and Livingstonia spp.
Guest House FRIM maintains a fully well-equipped guesthouse and a dormitory. The guesthouse has five rooms which are air-conditioned and can accommodate up to 11 persons. The dormitory consists of four rooms, which are furnished with double decker beds and can accommodate 16 persons. The guesthouse and the dormitory are situated in the complex surrounded by Teak plantations.
Other Facilities
- Educational Recreational Park
- Camping site
- Nature’s Trial
Nursery
The Mata Ayer Field center has a nursery capable of producing 100,000 seedlings per year. Seedlings raised at the nursery are Teak, Hopea and Sentang. The nursery also raises seedlings for landscaping purposes. The nursery has a green house for carrying out research on vegetative propagation.
- To become a well known Teak Research Center in this region
- To become a Teak seed producing center
- To become a Teak Information Center
- To promote forestry to the public and Government Agencies
- To produce high quality Teak planting material
- Carry out research in vegetative propagation
Teak
Teak was planted in Mata Ayer Forest Reserve as early as 1953 as species trials and latter followed by provenence and progeny trials. Provenance from Thailand, Indonesia, India, PNG, Burma, Trinidad and Sabah has been tested.
| Year of Planting | Hectare |
|---|---|
| 1953 | 2.60 |
| 1954 | 3.72 |
| 1958 | 0.8 |
| 1960 | 2.6 |
| 1961 | 0.8 |
| 1962 | 3.2 |
| 1963 | 26.0 |
| 1965 | 37.70 |
| 1967 | 22.5 |
| 1968 | 27.9 |
| Total: | 127.82 |
Seed Production Areas (SPA)
To cater for the demand of better quality Teak seeds a 1.61ha Seed Production area has been established in Mata Ayer Forest Reserve.
Plus Trees
These trees will be the basis of breeding activities. Seeds from these trees are collected and used for planting and progeny testing. Clonal materials are also being collected from these trees to establish a clone bank and for mass propagation purposes. To date a total of 80 plus trees have been selected in the Mata Ayer Forest Reserve.
Clone Bank
The clone bank is usually used for breeding activities which include control pollination activities. It is also used for clone establishment. To date FRIM has established one clone bank at Mata Ayer Forest Reserve, Perlis consisting of 80 clones from plus trees
The Mata Ayer Field Center has a staffing of 22 staffs headed by a Manager.
