Incidence of fusarium wilt disease of oil palm in some parts of Ghana

Abstract

A survey was carried out on fields belonging to the Oil Palm Research Institute (OPRI) at Kusi, and Okumaning, and the Crops Research Institute (CRI), at Akumadan to identify trees showing symptoms of Fusarium wilt and to ascertain the extent of spread of the disease. Out of a total of 41,113 trees from fields (K1 to K16) Surveyed at Kusi, 57 or 0.14% of trees were affected by Fusarium wilt. At Okumaning, out of a total of 3,157 trees, 9 (0.29%) had wilt. Out of 768 trees observed at Akumadan, 54 (7.03%) showed symptoms of the wilt. The genetic origin of the planting material and the environmental conditions at the locality plays a very important role in the development of wilt. Higher numbers of oil palm trees in the drier environment like Akumadan were infected with wilt than those in the wet areas.



JOURNAL OF THE GHANA SCIENCE ASSOCIATION Volume 1 Number 3, July (1999) pp. 60-65