The project is progressing well with most activities on or ahead of schedule.
Dr Agnieszka Mudge commenced on the project at UQ (0.6 FTE) in November, 2009. Dr Mudge will be responsible for the molecular marker component of the project.
An initial site visit to Honiara by Prof/Drs Ian Godwin, Agnieska Mudge and Carmel Pilotti in November 2009 laid out the groundwork for the establishment of the disease trials which was set as a priority for the first half of 2010.
From November 2009 to January 2010, disease surveys were carried out in the fields selected for the trials. Trial areas were also prepared for planting during this period with a total area of 66ha being cleared and lined for planting. Manual maps of the trial blocks were completed by December 2009 and were used to guide the layout of the trial.
In March 2010, planting of the trials commenced and continued until May 2010. Two disease trials have now been established with one being a comparative trial to test a different treatment prior to planting. A total of 81 progenies are being tested in the trials and these have been planted in 15 replicated blocks. Mapping of the trial blocks is currently underway.
Leaf samples were taken from 20 segregating families (100 individuals) and 26 parent lines for initial SSR marker screening at UQ. This has been completed and 18 of the 20 loci surveyed are polymorphic within the population.
Recruitment of personnel for the project has begun and it is expected that staff will be on site and undergoing training by the end of June 2010.
Plans for the establishment of a small laboratory have been completed and building work should commence by June 2010.

Laboratory equipment and consumables were procured and the laboratory is now fully operational except for a laminar flow unit which is currently being sourced. Two used microscopes were donated by the Head of the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland and these will greatly assist in the study of Ganoderma and the training of staff.
A Project Scientist was recruited and underwent training in PNG on all aspects of Ganoderma control including identification, laboratory isolations, surveys and sanitation of disease-affected fields. Training was for a period of 8 weeks during which time the Project Scientist gained proficiency in research protocols and was equipped to begin laboratory work on his return to SI. In May 2011 the first Ganoderma collected from the trial area was isolated into culture and stored in the new laboratory.
The two progeny trials were mapped and surveys of rat and other damage were also completed this year. The majority of palms in the trials are healthy and monitoring of yield and Ganoderma incidence on palm residue will begin soon.
Initial genetic screening of a small number of families in the trial was completed in 2011 and from this work discriminatory markers have been selected to screen the remaining population.
Sampling of all palms in all blocks in both trials at Ngalimbiu was achieved in May 2011.
Leaf samples were taken from a total of 2268 palms growing in the field trials which were planted in 2010. SSR markers will be used to screen all the progenies used in the field trial and the resulting data will hopefully identify a marker for either resistance or susceptibility to BSR. The field trip coincided with a mid-term review meeting between ACIAR, GPPOL, OPRA and UQ representatives.
In PNG, a nursery screening protocol has been developed to test germplasm for susceptibility or resistance to Ganoderma infection. Seed from the same parents planted in the field trial can now be tested and the results of these tests will also be used to assess correlations with field resistance. The nursery irrigation system will be upgraded to minimise variability in soil moisture.