Speaker
Description
ABSTRACT
In conventional, the oil palm reproduces through sexual fertilisation by using pisifera (P) pollen to fertilise a female inflorescence dura (D), resulting in the production of tenera (D×P) seeds. These D×P planting materials exhibit substantial variability in bunch yield and components. Cloning approach could overcome genetic segregation due to conventional mating. FGV has been at the forefront of oil palm cloning since the 1980s, producing uniformly high-quality planting material. The quality of this plant material is highly dependent on the rigorous selection process during the selection of ortets. A trial was conducted to assess the performance of D×P seeds compared to FGV clones from the similar background. The materials were planted in December 2013 at the FGVAS Plantation in Serting Hilir, Negeri Sembilan. The trial was laid using a randomised complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. The performance of the planting materials was assessed using bunch yield and bunch components, which were then statistically analysed using R statistics, and the means were compared at 0.05 significance level using the Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Over a six-year period, clonal materials resulted in higher yields of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) (23.29 t/ha/yr) and bunch number (BNO) (17.67 bunches/p/yr) compared to D×P seed (19.70 t/ha/yr FFB and 13.42 bunches/p/yr). However, clonal materials have a lower average bunch weight (ABW) than seedling materials at 8.98 kg/p/yr and 10.00 kg/p/yr, respectively. Clonal materials produced 41.48% more oil yield (8.80 t/ha) than the seedling materials (6.22 t/ha). These preliminary data demonstrate that clonal materials outperform seeds materials in term of bunch production and oil quality. This finding may support the selection of ortet for the future production of higher-performance clonal materials.
Keywords: Oil Palm, Planting Materials, D×P Seeds, FGV Clone
