Assessment of Inoculation Methods of (De Seynes) Höhn into Oil Palm Seedlings under Greenhouse Conditions.

Oil palm ( Jacq. and Cortes) is one of the most important oil crops in the world. Colombia is the fourth-largest oil palm producer worldwide. However, oil palm diseases are a significant factor affecting yield. (De Seynes) Höhn is a pathogen that affects young palm trees, causing spear rot. Four disease establishment methods were studied to replicate, in a controlled environment, the symptoms of the disease found in the field. Young palm trees were inoculated with a suspension of endoconidia using either local infiltration, drip, scissor cut, or direct contact with agar blocks bearing mycelia and conidia. The effects of the inoculation methods were studied in dose-method-disease severity experiments conducted in a greenhouse under controlled conditions. All four methods resulted in infections and the development of symptoms of the disease. The disease severity was correlated with the method and dose of inoculation. In trials to test Koch's postulates, was isolated from areas of disease progression in the inoculated trees, but the teleomorph (Dade) Moreau was not observed. A photographic record of the infection process at different times post-infection was compiled. Given that establishing the disease through artificial inoculation is essential for assessing plant pathogenesis, this study determined that the local infiltration method (1 × 10 endoconidia mL) and a 3-7 day incubation period were critical for the development of symptoms as severe as those observed in natural infections in the field.