Response of various oil palm materials (Elaeis guineensis and Elaeis oleifera × Elaeis guineensis interspecific hybrids) to bud rot disease in the southwestern oil palm-growing area of Colombia

Abstract

Palms planted in an area with a high bud rot disease (BR) inoculum pressure were evaluated monthly for a six-year period to determine their tolerance, resistance, or susceptibility to the disease. Dura-type E. guineensis and OxG (E. oleifera × E. guineensis) interspecific hybrids Coari × La Me were evaluated. Of the two types of genetic material evaluated, the progenies of the E. guineensis palms showed the highest levels of incidence, reaching 90% affected palms in less than two years of evaluation. Although the hybrids showed susceptibility, they had a lower degree of affectation than the dura-type palms. The severity assessment of both genetic materials showed that the dura-type palms had the highest degree of affectation, reaching the highest values after over two years of evaluation. However, the hybrids, which were not homogeneous in terms of the level of severity, did not exceed, on average, severity level 2. According to the scale, severity level 2 is indicative of tolerance to the disease.

An Integrated Disease Management of Oil Palms Affected by Bud Rot Results in Shorter Recovery Times

“…Previous reports showed that although they get sick, most of the time, the severity is low. For that reason, they are considered resistance cultivars against BR [10,13]. The hybrids also responded to IDM, showing similar RT to E. guineensis.…”

“…On the other hand, in the Colombian Southwest region (CSW), D × P palms affected by BR do not recover, regardless of their genetic origin, BR heavily affects palms in short periods. According to the data, in the CSW, BR can destroy entire oil palm states in less than 30 months after planting [13].…”

“…The IDM is no longer a suitable solution under epidemic behaviors presented in Colombia, Ecuador, and Brazil. Therefore, the genetic solution using hybrids between E. oleifera × E. guineensis, known as O × G hybrids, has become the main alternative to face the phytosanitary problem and continue with the sustainability of the crop [13].…”

“…Despite the IDM program offering benefits in fields with low BR [13], it is unknown how faster the palms under IDM overcome the disease. The time to recover makes the difference between the success or not of the methodology.…”

Assessing the labor productivity of two methods of artificial pollination in oil palm crops from Colombia

“…Cultivation with O Â G cultivars reached 68,000 ha in Colombia in 2018 (Romero et al, 2021). The main reason for the increased cultivation of O Â G cultivars in Colombia is that some of these cultivars have some degree of resistance to bud rot (BR) (Navia et al, 2014;Ávila-Diazgranados et al, 2016), the most serious disease affecting oil palm crops in Latin America (Torres et al, 2016;Swinburne, 1993). The oil extracted from O Â G has gained prominence in the production of goods for human consumption along the past decade because it has high concentrations of oleic acid, tocotrienols, and phytonutrients, which entail cardioprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory benefits (Mozzon et al, 2018;González-Diaz et al, 2021).…”