Along with current demand for palm oil ("dendê" oil) by the industries of food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and bio-fuel, it is important to encourage the advance of researches regarding handling techniques that allow longevity, increase in cultivated areas and productivity of the Palm Oil Tree ( Elaeis guineensis Jacq.).

Great part of the country's culture of palm oil is concentrated in the Amazon region, with the state of Pará as its largest producer (93%). However, a great obstacle to the culture's expansion in that region is the Fatal Yellowing Disease , having been reported so far in the states of Amazonas, Amapá and Pará.

This project aims to identify the cause of this disease through evaluations of its association to different phytopathogen agents, such as texture, soil fertility, nutrition and physiology of the palm oil tree and topoclimatic conditions. It is also proposed to genetically evaluate remaining plants with more than 25 years of age which resisted the Fatal Yellowing Disease, with the use of molecular markers, in order to find a possible resistance to the disease.

/n