By Ashley Tang

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -A fungal disease once confined to older palm trees in coastal areas is spreading across Malaysian palm plantations and appearing much earlier in growth cycles, threatening yields in newly replanted areas, agricultural industry experts say.

The rise of the fungus in second-largest palm oil exporter Malaysia, as well as in top producer Indonesia, is another headache for an industry struggling with stagnating output of the world’s most popular vegetable oil as plantations age.

Ganoderma, the fungus, is emerging in second-generation plantings, whereas previously it was only evident after three planting cycles, said Julian McGill, managing director of oil crop advisory firm Glenauk Economics.

The disease occurs more frequently when successive palm gene

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