PERFORMANCE OF SELFED AND INTERCROSSED OIL PALM DELI ULU REMIS PROGENIES BASED ON SELECTED AGRONOMIC TRAITS

Abstract

Deli is considered the best dura material for breeding and seed production. The Deli dura is predominantly utilised as the maternal parent in all commercial dura x pisifera (DxP) hybrid seed production programmes. This study evaluated the selfed and intercrossed Deli Ulu Remis oil palm progenies at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Research Station in Kluang, Johor, Malaysia. Performance of the selfed and intercrossed progenies in the bunch yield and bunch quality components were assessed. We also estimated the variance components and heritability for selected agronomic traits, based on the parental types. Intercrossed progenies produced significantly higher yields compared to selfed progenies. Broad-sense heritability estimates were higher in selfed compared to intercrossed progenies for most of the agronomic characters. In summary, this study identified the most promising dura progeny and individual palms as the female parents for commercial oil palm seed production, as well as a source for further genetic improvement via ongoing breeding programmes.