TRANSACTIONS ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2014. Vol. 1, No 1, pp 43-49 DECEMBER 2014 /43 Effect of Phenolic Acids to Ganoderma Viability in Oil Palm Tissues and Soil Wei-Ren JEE & Khim-Phin CHONG* Sustainable Palm Oil Research Unit (SPOR), Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MALAYSIA. *Corresponding author: chongkp@ums.edu.my, Tel:+6088-320000 ext 5571, Fax:+6088-435324 Received: 17 Nov 2014 Revised: 18 Dec 2014 Accepted: 30 Dec 2014 Online: 30 Dec 2014 Keywords: Caffeic acid, Syringic acid, 4- Hydroxybenzoic acid, Ganoderma, Basal Stem Rot A b s t r a c t This paper presents the potential of phenolic acids; caffeic acid (CA), syringic acid (SA) and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA) in Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease suppression of oil palm. Four concentrations of phenolics combinations were tested which were 0.4 g a.i., 0.8 g a.i., 1.2 g a.i. and 1.6 g a.i. of each CA, SA and 4-HBA. Infected palms with similar BSR disease intensity, age, soil topography and condition were selected for this trial. Assessment on Ganoderma viability was based on ergosterol content, possible isolation of the fungus on Ganoderma Selective Medium (GSM) from treated palm and Colony Forming of Ganoderma on GSM from treated soil. No ergosterol was found in healthy palms but in contrast ergosterol was detected in infected oil palm tissues before and after the treatments of phenolic acids. However, the untreated and infected palms showed significantly higher mean difference of ergosterol (0.6395 μg g -1 ) compared to infected palms but treated with phenolic acids. Combinations of phenolics with 1.6 g a.i. suppressed Ganoderma colonization the most (-0.4379 μg g -1 of ergosterol), though, the suppression was no significant in comparison to other treatments such as 0.4 g a.i., 0.8 g a.i. and 1.2 g a.i.. Ganoderma was isolated on GSM from all oil palm tissues either treated or untreated with the phenolics acids suggesting the pathogen was suppressed but not killed after treated. However, there was no colony of G. boninense form on the GSM from the soil samples collected after observation for one month. Introduction Oil Palm (OP) cultivation in South East Asia is hampered by the devastating Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease caused by Ganoderma boninense. The losses were estimated up to USD 500 million a year in Malaysia (Ariff et al., 2011). Many research have been conducted to reduce damages and losses in replanting and existing estates (Chong et al., 2012a), however, no conclusive remedy has been achieved. The most common practice in established plantations is practicing a good sanitation.The more recent study is investigation on the role of phenolic acids during oil palm – Ganoderma interaction (Chong et al., 2009a; 2009b; 2011a, 2012b). Phenolic compounds are plant secondary natural metabolites that constitute one of the most common and widespread groups of substances in plants. Phenolicsare arising biogenetically from the shikimate-phenylpropanoids-flavonoids pathways, producing monomeric and polymeric phenols and polyphenols (Harborne, 1989). Phenolic compounds are responsible for plants’ pigmentation, growth, reproduction, resistance to pathogens and for many other functions. Many of these compounds have been proposed as a control of pathogens of agricultural crops since their accumulation in plant tissues can act as phytoalexins, phytoanticipins and nematicides against soil-borne pathogens and phytophagous insects (Langcake et al., 1981; Akhtar and Malik, 2000; Lattanzio et al., 2006). To date, although, there are several work