THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SELECTED BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS IN CONTROLLING Ganoderma boninense
Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Arnnyitte Alexander, Racheal Khai Shyen Lo, Khim Phin Chong
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the combination of biological control agents in managing Ganoderma boninense, the causal pathogen of Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease in oil palm. The effectiveness of biological control agents (BCA) namely T1, T2 and T3 in managing BSR disease was tested and evaluated in the nursery and the field. Assessment on the disease progression of artificial Ganoderma inoculated oil palm seedlings based on disease severity (DSI) and bole severity index (BSI) was observed and recorded. The percentage of disease incidence (DI) was calculated for each treatment. Root and trunk tissue samples of the treated oil palms were collected and analyzed for their ergosterol content using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and plated on GSM. The findings showed BCA-based products are unable to prevent BSR infection in nursery trials. Nonetheless, if ergosterol content is taken as a representative of Ganoderma biomass in the oil palm tissue, the progression of the pathogen has been disrupted by the BCA. A longer observation period and additional parameters shall be taken in future studies to further validate the potential of these BCA.