A new species of Ganoderma associated with stem rot disease of coconut palm in India. New species of ganoderma

Coconut is an important oil seed. Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) is mainly cultivated throughout the coastal tropics for its oil and other products valuable in food and fiber industries. Coconut is commercially grown in more than eighty countries, and India is one of the major coconut producers in the world. Stem rot of coconut caused by Ganoderma is a lethal fungal disease of major concern for all coconut farmers. The disease causes heavy economic damage in plantations across the world and recovery of infected palms is rarely possible. Many species of Ganoderma have been implicated as the causal agents of the disease. A study of the recent outbreak of Ganoderma rot of coconut in the coastal state of India, Kerala, revealed the presence of two pathogenic Ganoderma species. One of the pathogens was identified as G. applanatum, and the other was an unknown species belonging to the “G. lucidum” complex. In this paper, we give an account of the disease, the taxonomy of the pathogens, and describe a new species, Ganoderma keralense, infecting coconut palms in India based on morphology and molecular phylogenetic data