Análisis económico del impacto de la incidencia de Pudrición del cogollo (PC) y Anillo rojo (AR) en plantaciones de palma aceitera, Región Central Sur de Costa Rica, 2023

Red Ring (RB) and But Rot (BR) are diseases whose degree of progress has a negative impact on oil palm plantations, as well as on the economy of producers, due to the elimination of plants, decrease in yields and spread of the disease to healthy plants. The introduction sets out the objective and theoretical framework, aimed at determining the economic impact of the incidence of PC and AR diseases on the oil palm crop in the Central South Region of Costa Rica, for the year 2023. Methodologically, we worked under a quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive approach based on the use of standardized questionnaires that allowed us to acquire primary information from each farm. The results obtained showed that the number of people affected by PC (36%) and AR (27%) did not exceed 40% of the population studied, with a higher incidence in middle-aged plantations (11 to 14 years old) and with which a total of 586 plants have been eliminated (46.93% PC and 53.07% AR), equivalent to a total potential area of 4.44 ha. However, the incidence of both diseases does not exceed 1 % according to each cooperative affiliation, reaching an economic impact of around US$4,884.99 per year according to the yield obtained in the region, and could reach US$9,266.68 per year if the national yield is used. These results show the importance of factor management in order to minimize economic losses and maintain the productivity of the palm crop.