Oil Palm Breeding
Oil palm is the world's leading source of vegetable oils and fats, on a par with soybean. Demand is set to double by 2020. Increasing cultivated areas, often to the detriment of fragile systems such as tropical forests, can in no way be the only response. States, and particularly developing countries, need to promote the development of economically, socially and environmentally efficient agriculture. The need for growers to have quality planting material at their disposal is internationally acknowledged.
The Research Unit has been assigned to optimize oil palm breeding and varietal production methods: describe genetic diversity, exploit resistance to pests and diseases, and develop assessment and marker-assisted breeding methods. The comparative advantage of varieties derived from hybrids between heterozygotes or clones is being studied in terms of strategy and the genetic progress achieved.