Genetic Improvement of Resistance of the Oil Palm to Diseases is Part of Integrated Pest Management Strategy
As any other crop, oil palm is facing aggressions by a set of diseases. We can highlight some of them: blast disease, Cercospora leaf spot, Fusarium wilt, Ganoderma (basal and upper stem rot), dry bud rot, leaf mottle, Red ring disease, Pestalotiopsis leaf spot, Lethal wilt, Sudden wilt, diverse forms of bud rot, orange spotting, etc. Some of them are committed to young age, others are of little economic impact. Integrated management of diseases involves chemical control, biological control, adapted cultural practices and breeding for genetic resistance. Among the most aggressive for oil palm plantation in adult age we have to take apart the one which can be handled by agronomic practices from the one which cannot be controlled without the help of genetics, namely Fusarium wilt (In Africa), bud rot in Latin America and basal and upper stem rot (Ganoderma). Breeders are very attentive to this new scientific knowledge, but have to compromise with short term expectation of planters. In annual crops, specific resistances to some strains of some diseases have been very helpful especially when two or more resistances have been gathered to enhance durability. Unfortunately perennial crop, such as oil palm, are not that easy to breed, introgression of genes through generations of back-crosses are very long term programs, and finally the pathogen could be much more flexible than the host. The search for nonspecific resistances should be considered as the best strategy. The prerequisites to develop such strategy are discussed in this paper: (a) the availability of partial resistances within the Elaeis species complex has to be evaluated (E. guineensis and E. oleifera). (b) Screening of the genetic resources could be a bottle neck and the development of specific early screening tools strongly correlated with field observation could be helpful. (c) Precision and easiness to operate of such tool will influence strategies which may be developed at the family or the individual level for breeding or commercialisation. Management of the resistant material in the field is another important point as selection of partial resistant material could lead to a drastic reduction of the planted genetic diversity. Lastly, one should pay special attention to durability of resistance maintaining permanent research on interaction between pathogen strain and planting material. Examples from our experience with Fusarium, Ganoderma and Bud Rot are given.
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | spa |
| Published: |
Fedepalma
2013
|
| Online Access: | https://publicaciones.fedepalma.org/index.php/palmas/article/view/10677 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|