research
projects
location Malaysia dates January 2011 – June 2013 project team Lum Keng Yeang Lee Boun Siew (CABI Associate) Low Ying Chiang Chan Hong Twu
managing Ganoderma to help the oil palm industry
Oil palm is of particular economic importance in Southeast Asia; Indonesia and Malaysia are two of the world’s largest producers.
so what’s the problem? Ganoderma spp is impeding production of oil palm and many tropical perennial crops such as coconut, betel palm, rubber and tea, as it causes root and stem rot. Ganoderma basal stem rot (BSR) of oil palm is of particular economic importance, since it shortens the productive life of plantations, an effect which tends to be cumulative after successive planting cycles of this monoculture. Initially, this disease was mostly confined to plantations in coastal areas. Now it has not only reached epidemic proportions, but has also had a severe impact on inland soils.
what is this project doing? Considerable work has been undertaken to amend soil so as to limit Ganoderma damage. Strains of the fungus Trichoderma have been shown to be incompatible with Ganoderma in laboratory tests, preventing it from affecting oil palm. An effective delivery system is therefore required to ensure that selected Trichoderma strains can be maintained in the environment and are able to contact and interact with the Ganoderma fungus. Although research has concentrated on amending the soil to limit the spread of this fungus, aerial dispersion via spores may also be a significant cause of disease. Consequently, the project will trial both compost-based soil amendments and liquid or gel-based amendments that can be applied to the actual palm, at the base of the frond.
KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE
The phenomenon of suppressive soils – where the fungus cannot develop – has been reported and shown to manage a number of soil-borne diseases. A thorough investigation into the microbial diversity of these soils may provide useful leads to manage Ganoderma disease sustainably. The project takes a fresh approach to examining ways to reduce the amount of Ganoderma in the oil palm ecosystem, both through direct intervention where Ganoderma is already resident in the soil and by boosting the soil’s capacity to suppress the development of Ganoderma disease.
results so far The microbial profiles of the soil, as well as its physic-chemical properties, have been studied for plantations exhibiting both high and low incidences of Ganoderma disease. The team is looking for evidence of soil suppression, and the possible correlation between low incidence and population levels of specific microbial taxonomic groups. A number of these organisms have been isolated and show promising antagonistic properties in laboratory tests. Some of these have now been incorporated in a controlled environment and field trials are being carried out to test appropriate delivery systems for use in managing this debilitating disease.
www.cabi.org/ganoderma partner FELDA Agricultural Services Sdn Bhd sponsor Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) Malaysia
contact CABI, PO Box 210, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia T: +60 (0)3 8943 2921 F: +60 (0)3 8942 6490 E: cabisea@cabi.org www.cabi.org/malaysia
ID-Ganoderma-10-12
Lum Keng Yeang, Project Manager