Basal stem rot (BSR), caused by the fungus Ganoderma, is the most serious disease of oil palm in Malaysia and Indonesia. Previously, research on BSR was hampered by the failure to artificially infect oil palm with the fungus. Although Ganoderma had been associated with BSR (Thompson, 1931), proof of its pathogenicity to satisfy Koch’s postulate was only achieved in the early 1990s by inoculating oil palm seedling roots (Ariffin and Idris, 1991) or by using rubber wood blocks (Khairuddin, 1990; 1991; Sariah et al., 1994; Lim et al., 1992). With these two techniques, it has become fairly established that G. boninense is the main species pathogenic to oil palm. However, Idris (1999) has shown that two other species, G. zonatum and G. miniatocinctum, are also pathogenic, but G. tornatum, G. lucidum, G. philippii, G. applanatum, G. pfeiifferi and G. oregonense are not. This paper reports a reliable and quick technique for testing the pathogenicity of the Ganoderma fungus by inoculating oil palm germinated seeds.

Main Research: Dr Idris Abu Ismail