Application of Trichoderma harzianum in the control of basal stem rot of oil palms

摘要

The palm, Elaeis guineensis, has its origins in Africa but is planted on a commercial basis in several countries. Statistics for 2002 showed that in the lead for land mass under oil palm cultivation is Indonesia, at 3,769,000. ha, followed by Malaysia at 3,376,000. ha; however, the world’s leading producer of palm oil is still Malaysia, since the 1970’s. Both countries are predicted to produce 82.4% of the world’s palm oil production by the year 2005. However, the palm is susceptible to basal stem rot, a devastating disease which results in direct loss of field stands and to which no effective chemical control is yet available. Caused by Ganoderma boninense, infected palms appear symptomless, at the first sign of disease, at least 50% of the internal trunk tissue stem would have actually rotted. This study investigated the efficacy of Trichoderma harzianum (isolate FA 1132) as a biological control agent, using 6-month old oil palm seedlings as models and the experiment performed in a greenhouse at 29- 30 ℃. ambient conditions. The plants were artificially infected with G. boninense and a conidial suspension of 1×109-9×109 spores/mL was applied as a soil drench at 1L/plant every 2 weeks for 20 weeks. The parameters examined were efficacy of the biocontrol agent and the effect of Trichoderma- incorporated mulch in addition to the soil drench. Efficacy was assessed in terms disease severity index (DSI) where a higher percentage indicates a higher severity. Results showed that infection first sets in on untreated plants at week 12 and got worse progressively. The completely untreated plants were all infected and the DSI at 20 weeks after infection (wa.i.) was 92.5%. Plants given only a Trichoderma -infused food base supplement without conidial suspension gave a DSI of 70% whereas those given a conidial soil drench without supplemental food base gave a DSI of 85% at 20 w.a.i. Infected plants given a conidial treatment together with a food base supplement gave a DSI of 5% at 20 w.a.i. This investigation showed that there is potential in the use of T. harzianum (isolate FA 1132) as a biological control agent of basal stem rot and warrant further studies in its mass propagation for field trials.