ABSTRACT
Oil palm is a perennial plantation crop with a long stout trunk and a crown containing 7-100 leaves. The oil palm plants grow well in high rainfall areas with high relative humidity in flat cultivable land and bear fruits after 4-5 years of gestation. Oil palm is known to have originated from the tropical rainforests of South Africa. Indonesia is the leading producer of oil palm in the global market followed by Malaysia. In India, Andhra Pradesh followed by Telangana is the leading state contributing 97% of India’s crude oil palm production. Therefore, the important diseases of oil palm are discussed herein with their respective susceptible stage. Copper based-fungicides should be avoided as oil palm seedlings are extremely susceptible to copper burn disorder. The adoption of cultural practices to improve pollination and soil nutrition in acid sulphate soils is also essential for effective disease management. Oil palm is an economically important plantation crop with a very promising yield.
