Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) cultivar V36 was
obtained from the Malaysian Agricultural Research and
Development Institute (MARDI), Malaysia. Whole stalks
of kenaf were chipped into small particles using a chipper
mill, dried to 5% moisture content and screened to even
size. The chips were powdered using a pulverizer and
powder passed through a 0.85 mm screen. A total of 5 g
of the powdered kenaf was then transferred into a conical
flask. Ten milliliters of synthetic medium with composition
per liter of 0.01 g MgCl2, 0.002 g KH2PO and 0.0005 g
of CaCl
2 were taken using pipet and spread evenly on
the powder surface. Conical flasks were closed with
aluminum foil to avoid moisture loss and contamination
and then autoclaved at 121°C for 20 min. A total of 10 mL
of inocula was added into the kenaf medium and left at
room temperature for 4 weeks. Sixteen conical flasks were
prepared; each species had four replicates. Treatment was
repeated thrice at different times.