In addition to media campaigns against palm oil from Côte d’Ivoire, the issue of productivity remains a very important concern for the AIPH (Interprofessional Association of Oil Palm). During the recent congress of Oil Palm in Abidjan (APOC), Dr. Sekou Diabate, a researcher at CNRA (National Agricultural Research Centre) explained, in this interview, how Côte d’Ivoire deals with the problem of Fusarium to end this decease, considered as the ”HIV” of palm oil.

What are the actions taken by to CNRA to fight against diseases of oil palm deceases, mainly Fusarium?

Overall, I would like first to underline the fact that Fusarium is a very dangerous disease of oil palm trees. Fusarium can destroy up to 50% of an Oil Palm plantation, if the plant seeds are not selected by CNRA (National Agricultural Research Center).

The disease is caused by a fungus called fisarium oxysporum spp. The fungus enters in the palm tree through the roots and moves upon the top of the plant. Then, the symptoms of the decease begin to appear. These symptoms are various and depend to the age of the palm tree. But, in most of the case, when the palm tree is infected by the fungus, it will probably die.
If the palm tree resists to this disease, it will not be possible for the producers to get fruit from this tree. In order to fight against this decease and set a defense method, we work on the genetic structure of the oil palm.

    At the level of control methods, we explored the genetic pathway.

First of all, we grew the fungus in our laboratory and we use it to infect artificially the plant seeds. Then, we start the observation steps of the reactions of the infected plants. At the end of this process, we select the strong plant seeds in the laboratory to grow them outdoor. Robert Michaux in Dabou, an Experimental Station of CNRA, is the first place where we grow our selected plants against Fusarium.

I would like to mention that Robert Michaux is the only station in Africa with nearly 3500 hectares. As CNRA is the producer of these species, it’s possible for us today, to know exactly the genetic code of our plants. This allows us to turn back at any moment to do a new selection in order to perform the plant seeds. Today, all the seeds we give to the farmers can resist to Fusarium.

Are the plant seeds selected by CNRA efficient against Fusarium?

I must say that Fusarium is a disease that can occur in the first year of planting. So, the seeds we give to farmers are selected seeds resistant against Fusarium. These seeds show their efficiency around the world, particularly in Ecuador. In this country, there is a disease called “heart rot”. It seems that our selected seeds to fight against Fusarium can also resist against this disease.