The results of this study confirmed the association of a phytoplasma
strain related to ‘Ca. P. asteris’ with oil palm severely affected
by a lethal wilt in Colombia. The work carried out expanded
knowledge of this oil palm disease because a large geographic area
was surveyed and a range of samples from different parts of the
plants and from different stages of the disease were examined.
Considering the sampling sites from which plants were tested and
the presence of phytoplasmas in at least one of the samples from
each symptomatic plant, the association of the disease with AY
phytoplasmas is clear.