By Ashley Tang
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -A fungal disease once confined to older palm trees in coastal areas is spreading across Malaysian palm plantations and appearing much earlier in growth cycles, threatening yields in newly replanted areas, agricultural industry experts say.
The rise of the fungus in second-largest palm oil exporter Malaysia, as well as in top producer Indonesia, is another headache for an industry struggling with stagnating output of the world’s most popular vegetable oil as plantations age.
Ganoderma, the fungus, is emerging in second-generation plantings, whereas previously it was only evident after three planting cycles, said Julian McGill, managing director of oil crop advisory firm Glenauk Economics.
The disease occurs more frequently when successive palm generations are replanted on the same land.
“The enforcement of zero-burning policies in the field has also increased its spread, and examples of Ganoderma in newer plantings, inland soils and younger trees appear to be becoming more frequent,” McGill said.
Ganoderma spreads slowly but detection is difficult.
“By the time you see the symptoms in the field the disease is already well established, and the infection may have spread,” McGill said.
Previously, plantations would burn old trees to make way for new plantings and that would stop the spread of an existing infection, but burning has been banned because of its contribution to Southeast Asia haze events.
Chong Khim Phin, a professor of plant pathology at the University Malaysia Sabah, said some studies estimate that a 1% increase in Ganoderma infection could reduce plantation yield by 0.5% to 0.8%, depending on factors including tree age and infection density.
“Over a 25-year crop cycle, this could mean a cumulative loss of 15%–20% in fresh fruit bunches (FFB) productivity in heavily affected areas,” he said.
According to Malaysian Palm Oil Board data, of 1.46 million hectares of oil palm area surveyed last year, 199,644 hectares, or 13.7%, were infected with Ganoderma, with the states of Johor, Sabah, Sarawak, Perak and Negeri Sembilan most affected.
Data on previous years was unavailable. Malaysia’s total oil palm planted area is 5.61 million hectares.
Ganoderma will potentially cut into yields and palm oil output and further tighten global supplies, which have already been impacted by replanting delays and Indonesia’s biodiesel mandate, driving palm prices to a premium to soybean oil last year, reversing years of discounts. [POI/]
‘DEATH SENTENCE’
M.R. Chandran, chairman of agritech firm IRGA, described Ganoderma as the second-greatest concern for oil palm planters after labour shortages, given its impact on yields.
A roughly 14% Ganoderma infection rate in a plantation can lead to a FFB yield loss of 20% to 60% per hectare, depending on other conditions, the industry veteran said.
In Peninsular Malaysia, young palms in replanted areas have high infection rates because old diseased material was not properly removed, he said.
Smallholders that lack resources to prevent Ganoderma’s spread are especially vulnerable.
Mohd Sharul Haizam Shafei, a planter in Selangor state, said about two acres of his family’s 50-acre plantation have been affected, although only one tree has been felled because it reached a critical stage.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad, which has a planted area of 287,354 hectares in Malaysia and Indonesia, said in its annual report that it was battling the disease across its plantations but did not specify the extent or impact.
Malaysian planter FGV Holdings told Reuters around 1% of its planted area was infected as of 2024, but that the impact on FFB production this year would be below 0.1% due to continuous intervention.
Carl Bek-Nielsen, chairman of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, said, however, that Ganoderma is “like a death sentence” because there is no cure or treatment once a tree is infected.
“Yields will immediately start a progressive decline after infection so yields will be considerably lower in infected fields,” Bek-Nielsen said.
(Reporting by Ashley Tang; Editing by Tony Munroe and Tom Hogue)
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