Effect of Mycorrhizal Consortium Application on Plant Growth and the Development of Ganoderma Disease in Oil Palm Nursery

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the effect of mycorrhizal consortium application on plant growth and the development of Ganoderma disease in an oil palm nursery. The experiment was conducted following a factorial design with two main factors (doses of mycorrhizal application and inoculation time of Ganoderma), each with three level of treatments i.e. application doses of 0, 30 g in pre-nursery (PN) followed by 40 g in main nursery (MN), or 40 g in PN followed by 50 g in MN; inoculation time at 3 or 6 month after planting, and treatment without Ganoderma inoculation as a control. The result showed that mycorrhizal isolates used in this study were capable of creating a symbiotic relationship with oil palm roots with a colonization rate between 39,13% and 45,74%. Mycorrhizal application did not show a positive effect on seedling's vertical growth and total leaves production, but had a significant impact on the increase of bole's diameter. The incidence and severity of Ganoderma disease on seedlings with mycorrhiza were significantly lower than those without mycorrhiza. Mycorrhizal application was able to suppress disease development by more than 50% at all doses used in this study.