In this report, plastic sheeting prepared from esterified sago residue was investigated for its degradability in soil or on fungi and for its insolubility in various solvents.
 The esterification conditions for the residue, as adopted in the previous study, were reaction at 140°C for 4 hours or at 160°C for 2 hours. The reaction products were mixed with glycerol (0, 10, 15 and 20wt%) as a plasticizer and then molded into a plastic sheet by a hot-press. Samples of the plastic sheeting were buried in soil for 60 days. After this period, all samples showed a decreasing modulus of elasticity (MOE) and loss of mass. Other plastic sheet samples were placed on a fungus medium. The resulting samples were remarkably biodegraded, regardless of the esterification conditions or the glycerol contents. The results of insolubility tests with various solvents showed clearly that plastic sheeting had low insolubility in acid and alkali solutions. A comparison of insolubility between polar and non-polar solvents, revealed higher insolubility in the non-polar. In addition, the insolubility of the polar solvent decreased with increasing glycerol content.

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 Sago agriculture is closely associated with root vegeculture zones. The sago palm still plays a leading role in the cultures of some Asian and Pacific local regions. The methods of sago starch extraction depend on a particular area. Extraction methods in some of these areas were investigated through field surveys and it was established that there were some differences. This study investigates some local areas in a Pacific Island country, Papua New Guinea, as well as local areas in Southeast Asian countries, especially, Indonesia and Malaysia. Extraction of sago palm starch in Papua New Guinea and in Indonesian shows similar processes, except that different actions and implements are used. The former has sago-growing areas in coastal regions, while in Indonesia sago growing can be easily seen in Irian Jaya, Ambon, Sulawesi and Kalimantan. The results indicate some differences in techniques depending on the manner of crushing piths and the method and vessels used in washing sago piths. These differences were categorized into three types; New Guinea, Malay and Intermediate (Sulawesi) Types. These differences result from farmers’ use of sago starch, either for self-consumption, selling at local markets, or in the international starch markets. On the whole, sago palm as a food source still has a great influence on the lifestyle of rural people in the areas surveyed.

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 The sago palm is known for its ability to accumulate starch in its stem and can grow in peat and mineral soils. However in the Philippines, the sago palm is mainly utilized as roofing material as a source of income. A study was conducted in Alubijid, Misamis Oriental, Mindanao, Philippines, to evaluate data on biomass, plant population density and to conduct income analysis derived from sago thatch production. Studies have shown that sago palm biomass resulted to measurements of leaf parameters since there was no trunk formation due to the cutting of 3 leaves every three months to produce the thatch and to remain 3-4 leaves per palm. The population density of palms per hectare was extremely high ranging from 3025 to 4600 palms. This further supports the fact that sago growing areas in Alubijid were flooded throughout the year and that farmers need to grow more palms to harvest more leaves thus controlling newly grown suckers has not been practiced. Recently, the prevailing market price of sago roofing material per 100 pieces is US $6.24. Based on the population density, sago farmers can roughly gain an annual net income of US $3,591.71 per hectare, which is higher compared with the net income of a local farmer.

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 In order to develop sago palm study for the future, a questionnaire on growing Metroxylon sagu Rottb. was sent out to 45 Japanese institutes by the Secretariat of the Japanese Society of Sago Palm Studies. The rate of recovery was 82%. Sago palms, introduced from Southeast Asia as seeds or seedlings, were growing in 8 botanical gardens (Tsukuba Botanical Garden, National Science Museum, Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome, Irozaki Jungle Park, Toyama Central Botanical Garden, Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens, The Kyoto Botanical Garden, The Botanical Garden of Osaka City University, Okinawa Memorial National Government Park) and one university (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology) in Japan. The largest sago palm in Japan was up to 2 to 3m in leaf length and still did not form the trunk. Many botanical gardens hoped to get and exhibit sago palms in their green houses. It has become clear that when sago palms are maintained indoors at more than 25°C and with flooded soil, they can grow well.

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