Dear Colleagues,

Palm oil contributes to about 44% (which is close to 84 million tons) of the global oil production (Oil World, 2020). The palm oil industry in Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia and Indonesia, the two main producers of palm oil, is threatened by a oil palm disease known as basal stem rot (BSR). According to the most recent BSR survey conducted by the Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) in 2017, BSR was reported in an area of 221,000 hectares with 7.4% infected palms (www.mpob.gov.my). With the increase in infection area and infection rate, the impact on economic loss has also increased significantly.

BSR is caused by fungi belonging to the Ganoderma genus. Since BSR is a soil-borne disease, the early symptoms of BSR are only observed in the roots (e.g., growth of mycelia and root necrosis). Manifestation of disease symptoms in aboveground tissues, such as yellowing of leaves, basal stem rotting and appearance of fruiting bodies, only happen at the advanced stage of BSR, hence preventing effective management of the disease. Early detection of BSR is important for effective BSR management, such as applications of fungicide and removal of infected palms. Preventive measures such as applications of biocontrol agents, breeding and in vitro propagation of BSR-resistant oil palms have also been explored to mitigate the threat of BSR. Meanwhile, omics approaches were also employed to provide more information on oil palm and Ganoderma to further understand the plant host–pathogen molecular interactions.

In this Special Issue, we seek high-quality manuscripts (minireviews and scientific papers) with relevance in at least one of the following topics:

(1) Early detection of BSR;

(2) Prevention of BSR;

(3) Sustainable BSR management;

(4) Pathogen(s) and virulence factors causing BSR;

(5) Oil palm defense mechanisms;

(6) Genetic engineering and breeding of BSR-resistant oil palms;

(7) In-sight understanding of pathogen–host interactions during pathogenesis;

(8) Predisposing factors of BSR.

Prof. Dr. Chai Ling Ho
Dr. Shamala Sundram
Prof. Dr. Khim Phin Chong
Guest Editors

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• oil palm
• pathogens
• basal stem rot (BSR)
• prevention
• disease control
• sustainable management