Abundance and diversity of bacteria associated with healthy and infected oil palm rhizosphere of Ganoderma boninense in Bahilang, North Sumatra

Abstract

Basal stem rot (BSR) caused by soil-borne pathogen, Ganoderma boninense, is one of the constraint factors in palm oil production in the world. The presence of rhizosphere microbes such as bacteria is an important factor whose presence can be beneficial to plants or become a pathogen. Unfortunately, information about the abundance and diversity of bacteria associated with healthy and infected oil palm rhizosphere of G. boninense is still limited. This research aims to compare the abundance and diversity of bacteria associated with healthy and infected oil palm rhizosphere of G. boninense. Soil samples were taken from a healthy and infected oil palm rhizosphere in the Bahilang, North Sumatra. The results showed that the abundance and diversity of bacteria from the healthy rhizosphere were higher than infected rhizosphere. In a healthy rhizosphere, the abundance and diversity of bacteria were higher at soil depths of 10-20 cm compared to soil depths of 0-10 cm. Otherwise, the abundance and diversity of bacteria in the infected rhizosphere were higher at depths of 0-10 cm.

Comparative incidence of Ganoderma basal stem rot and upper stem rot disease in oil palm in relation to soil type and geographical distribution

“…However, the interaction between pathogen and its environment is highly complex. The differences in infection levels recorded between soil types could be due to a variety of factors, such as the composition of the original forest species (alternate hosts), which defines the level of indigenous inoculum, soil chemical composition and the presence or absence of suppressive or antagonistic microbes in the soil [30][31][32][33]. Results of the study also highlighted the co-existence of BSR and USR in all surveyed sites, although their composition ratio differed between soil types.…”