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ABSTRACT
Elaeis guineensis, also known as the African oil palm, is a palm tree commonly found in West Africa and some other countries. As the world second-largest source of edible oil, the plant is a member of the family Elaeis. The fungus Thielaviopsis paradoxa plays important role in the death of oil palm seedlings due to its ability to penetrate through oil palm tissues. Methyljasmonate (MeJA) is a phytohormone generated from lipids present in plants. It has a complex involvement in the defensive mechanisms, growth, and development of plants. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of methyljasmonate in oil palm seedlings infested with fungus Thielaviopsis paradoxa. This study was carried out using a total of forty (40) oil palm seedlings divided into four groups (each group consisting of 10 seedlings). Group I served as normal control; group II was negative control, comprising infested oil palm seedlings only; group III was the positive control (normal seedlings exposed to methyljasmonate); and group IV was the treatment group (fungus infested oil palm seedlings treated with methyljasmonate). The results of this study showed that the inoculation of oil palm seedlings with fungal pathogen led to significant reductions in the concentrations of plant biomolecules such as chlorophyll, vitamins, sugar, starch, carbohydrates, protein, and proanthocyanidins. However, application of methyljasmonate to the infested oil palm seedlings significantly increased the concentrations of the plant biomolecules (p < 0.05). The results of this study show that methyljasmonate exhibit positive and curative effect on infested oil palm sample.
