Yield Potential of Various Sources of Planting Materials in Malaysia

Oil Palm Bulletin 43 p. 23-30 Yield Potential of Various Sources of Planting Materials in Malaysia: Second Round Evaluation Yield Potential of Various Sources of Planting Materials in Malaysia: Second Round Evaluation

Kushairi, A*; Rafii, M Y*; Rajanaidu, N* and Jalani, B S*

ABSTRACT Perbezaan prestasi antara agensi (populasi) adalah disebabkan latarbelakang genetik A total of 100 dura x pisifera (DxP) progenies bahan tersebut. from seven seed producers (agencies) in Malay- sia were evaluated in a comparative trial in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia. The trial mean Keywords: Elaeis guineensis, yield potential, com- for fresh fruit bunch (FFB) was 168.18 kg mercial DxP, performance, comparative trial. palm-1 yr-1 and the oil to bunch (O/B) was 22.73%. High FFB yield was largely attributed INTRODUCTION to the high bunch number (BNO), while reduced O/B was probably due to low fruit to bunch The breeding and selection of oil palm (Elaeis (57.26%) and oil to dry mesocarp (75.31%). guineensis) is synonymous with the development Agency 6 was outstanding for bunch yield, oil of the Deli dura in the Far East, based on four per palm per year, kernel per palm per year and palms introduced to Bogor in 1848 (Figure 1). In hence, total economic product. Agency 5 was ex- Africa, preference for fine tenera specimens over ceptional for bunch and fruit qualities. Statisti- poor quality duras in palm groves directed ex- cal analyses suggested that performance of the ploratory research towards the tenera leading to planting materials from the various agencies the discovery of the single gene inheritance for differed significantly for bunch yield and bunch shell thickness (Beirnaert and Vanderweyen quality components. Differences in performance 1941). Once the hybrid nature of tenera was among the agencies (populations) were largely known, breeding programmes worldwide were due to the genetic background of the materials. directed at selecting duras and pisiferas sepa- rately using the reciprocal recurrent selection ABSTRAK (RRS) scheme (Gascon and de Berchoux, 1964). Progeny testing is essential in the selection of Sejumlah 100 progeni dura x pisifera (DxP) pisiferas that combine well with one or several daripada tujuh pengeluar biji benih (agensi) di duras to exploit their specific or general combin- Malaysia telah dinilai prestasi pada percubaan ing abilities, respectively. Selected pisiferas from perbandingan di Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia. the progeny test are used as male parents, each Min buah tandan segar (BTS) bagi percubaan providing pollen sufficient to pollinate a large tersebut ialah 168.18 kg pokok-1 thn-1 dan number of female dura parents to produce com- minyak ke tandan (O/B) ialah 22.73%. Hasil mercial quantities of DxP seeds. BTS yang tinggi adalah disebabkan oleh bilangan tandan (BNO) yang banyak, The oil palm industry in Malaysia and manakala penurunan O/B mungkin elsewhere is generally based on the Deli dura x disebabkan buah ke tandan (57.26%) dan AVROS pisifera seeds. In Malaysia, planting minyak ke mesokarp kering (75.31%) yang materials can be obtained relatively easily from rendah. Agensi 6 adalah unggul untuk hasil several seed producers. Individual seed produc- tandan, minyak per pokok per tahun, isirong ers have been maintaining proper records in per pokok per tahun dan seterusnya, produk selection and breeding programmes. Selected ekonomik keseluruhan. Agensi 5 mempunyai materials are used in seed production. In 1997, tandan dan buah yang berkualiti tinggi. oil palm seed production in Malaysia was esti- Analisis statistik mencadangkan bahawa mated at 80 million seeds (Table 1). The demand prestasi bahan tanaman daripada pelbagai for seeds was for local planting and overseas agensi berbeza dengan nyata terhadap hasil joint-venture plantations. The production figure tandan dan komponen kualiti tandan. for 1997 was probably an underestimate of the potential output as large seed orders were

* Malaysian Palm Oil Board, P.O. Box 10620, 50720 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

23 Oil Palm Bulletin 43

Figure 1. History and developments of the Deli dura in Indonesia and Malaysia till 1979.

24 Yield Potential of Various Sources of Planting Materials in Malaysia: Second Round Evaluation deferred owing to rescheduling in replanting pro- that the commercial planting materials produced by the grammes of most estates. This was due to the industry be evaluated in a comparative trial by MPOB. economic turmoil in the region and the high price The first round of comparative trials involving 99 DxP of palm oil in world market for that year. progenies from Golden Hope, FELDA, HRU, Guthrie, Socfin and United Plantations was planted at MPOB The evaluation of six sources of planting Research Station Hulu Paka, Terengganu in 1983 materials planted in Hulu Paka, Terengganu, (Kushairi, 1992; Kushairi et al., 1994). Malaysia was reported by Kushairi (1992) and Kushairi et al. (1994). The materials were the The second round of comparative trials first round evaluation of commercial planting was laid down in March 1991 at PORIM (now materials in the country. Planting materials MPOB) Research Station Lahad Datu, Sabah. from these sources performed differently for Seven agencies (populations), namely, FELDA, yield, bunch quality components, vegetative Guthrie, Golden Hope, United Plantations, Sime traits and physiological parameters. This paper Darby, DOA Sabah and HRU contributed a total reports on the performance of another series of of 100 DxP progenies to the programme. As in comparative trials of Malaysian DxP progenies the first round of evaluation and due to the com- planted in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia. The mercial implications from results of this experi- collaborative programme between the Palm Oil ment, the agencies were coded in random order. Research Institute of Malaysia [PORIM, now The respective agencies were notified of the cod- Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)] and the ing. The agencies and the number of progenies Malaysian oil palm industry was to evaluate the supplied are as follows: performance of commercial planting materials produced in the country. This will serve as a The seedlings were planted on Malabambula check on progeny test performance according to Agency No. of progenies the Malaysian Standards MS 157 – specifica- tions for oil palm seed for commercial planting – imposed by the Standards and Industrial Re- 116 220 search Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM). 3 5 414 520 MATERIALS AND METHODS 6 5 720 During a meeting of the MPOB-Industry Breed- ers Committee in the early 1980s, it was agreed Total 100

TABLE 1. COMMERCIAL DxP SEED PRODUCTION IN MALAYSIA IN 1997

Seed producers Production (million seeds)

1. Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) 20.7 2. Guthrie Research Chemara, Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd. (Guthrie) 16.0 3. Applied Agricultural Research Sdn. Bhd. (AAR) 11.0 4. Golden Hope Plantations Bhd. (Golden Hope) 8.0 5. Highlands Research Unit (HRU), Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd. 5.0 6. United Plantations Bhd. (UPB) 5.0 7. Department of Agriculture Sabah (DOA Sabah)* 3.5 8. Industrial Oxygen Incorporated (IOI) 3.5 9. Pamol Plantations Sdn. Bhd. (Pamol) 2.5 10. Sime Darby Plantations Sdn. Bhd. (Sime Darby) 3.0 11. Borneo Samudra** 0.6 12. Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia (PORIM, now MPOB) 0.5 13. Eastern Plantation Agency Sdn. Bhd. (EPA) 0.5

Total 79.8

Notes: * Borneo Samudra has been producing commercial seeds from the genetic materials of DOA Sabah since 1999. ** Sarawak Land Development Board planted their seed garden in 1996. Other plantation companies are negotiating with MPOB for the supply of genetic materials for the establishment of seed gardens.

25 Oil Palm Bulletin 43

Series soil at 148 palms ha-1 in Trials 0.284, 0.285 and planted on the more fertile soil and better environmen- 0.286 employing a single palm plot (SPP), completely tal conditions in Lahad Datu. The mean FFB yield randomized design (CRD) and randomized complete between 1995 and 1998 was 168.18 kg block design (RCBD), respectively. A census on dura palm-1 yr-1 (Table 3). The planting materials from contamination of the DxP materials was carried out and the seven participating agencies differed signifi- only tenera palms were used in evaluating the perform- cantly as tested by Duncan’s Multiple Range ance of the progenies. Trial 0.284 is discussed here to Test (DMRT). Comparatively, Agency 6 consist- illustrate the yield potential of the planting materials ently produced the highest FFB yield over the produced in Malaysia. The 100 biparental progenies in years, while Agency 7 was the lowest in ranking. Trial 0.284 were replicated 48 times. Thus, the SPP The differences in performance between Agency design has a total of 4800 experimental palms. Yield 6 and Agency 7 were largely due to variation in records were collected from January 1995 to BNO and average bunches weight (ABWT). December 1998. Bunch analysis was carried out Agency 6 was high in number of bunches pro- between October 1996 and July 1998. Data collection duced (Table 4), while Agency 7 had the heaviest is being continued for at least another two years. All bunches (Table 5). It is well known in oil palm the data collected were based on individual palms. that BNO and ABWT are negatively correlated. Statistical analyses were computed using the Statistical It can be seen from Tables 3, 4 and 5 that a high Analysis System (SAS) where missing palms were ad- BNO contributed to the higher FFB. justed accordingly by the system and, where applicable, harmonic means used. As Agency 6 was represented by only five progenies and Agency 7 by 20 progenies, the contrasting FFB yields between these agencies RESULTS AND DISCUSSION might be due to the large difference in their numbers of progenies. However, this could be The level of dura contamination of Trials 0.284, verified (Table 3) by comparing the performance 0.285 and 0.286 was minimal, ranging from of Agency 3 (five progenies) with Agency 6, both 0.14% to 6.03%, with a mean of 1.66% (Table 2). with the same number of progenies. In this case, Agency 7 had more than the permissible level of Agency 3 was ranked sixth among the seven 5% dura contamination according to standards. agencies and Agency 6 was the top performer. The agency was notified and, since then, the Similarly, Agency 2 and Agency 5, each with 20 quality improved drastically. progenies, produced higher FFB yields compared to Agency 7, also with 20 progenies. This shows Looking back at the first round evaluation that the sample size had little influence on the in Hulu Paka, differences in performance be- performance of planting materials in this trial, tween planting materials in Malaysia were ap- thus, suggesting that the differences in perform- parent (Kushairi, 1992; Kushairi et al., 1994). ance could be attributed to genetic effects. The bunch yield of the materials planted on hilly terrain inland soil in Hulu Paka was modest. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed The four-year mean FFB yield was 130 kg significant differences between the agencies. The palm-1 yr-1 and the mean O/B ratio was commendable at mean squares for FFB (Table 6), BNO (Table 7) 25.5%. and ABWT (Table 8) were significantly different for each of the individual years and the pooled High FFB yields were obtained from palms years.

TABLE 2. LEVELS OF Dura CONTAMINATION IN DxP PLANTING MATERIALS OF SEVEN AGENCIES IN MPOB RESEARCH STATION, LAHAD DATU, SABAH, MALAYSIA

Agency No. of palms surveyed Dura contamination (%)

1 2 269 0.62 2 2 863 0.21 3 716 1.68 4 1 984 1.21 5 2 853 0.14 6 714 0.70 7 2 853 6.03

Overall 14 252 1.66

26 Yield Potential of Various Sources of Planting Materials in Malaysia: Second Round Evaluation

TABLE 3. FFB (kg palm-1 yr-1) BETWEEN 1995 AND 1998 IN TRIAL 0.284 IN MPOB LAHAD DATU, SABAH, MALAYSIA

Agency No. of palms 1995 1996 1997 1998 Mean 95-98

1 743 169.62b 198.92ab 195.44b 135.01bc 174.75b 2 950 163.27b 190.19bc 192.64bc 146.83a 173.23b 3 230 162.88b 176.45de 174.50ef 134.56bc 162.10d 4 653 149.92b 181.76cd 184.82cd 143.95ab 165.11cd 5 947 170.37b 187.48c 180.37de 143.74ab 170.49bc 6 237 188.34a 207.74a 206.48a 137.88abc 185.12a 7 843 142.17c 170.85e 169.23f 131.18c 153.37e

Trial mean 161.27 186.61 184.99 139.94 168.18

LSD0.05 8.95 10.38 9.48 8.95 6.91

Note: means with the same letter within a column are not significantly different by DMRT at alpha = 0.05.

TABLE 4. BNO (No. palm-1 yr-1) BETWEEN 1995 AND 1998 IN TRIAL 0.284 IN MPOB LAHAD DATU, SABAH, MALAYSIA

Agency No. of palms 1995 1996 1997 1998 Mean 95-98

1 743 18.96b 19.09a 17.26b 10.76a 16.54b b 2 950 18.74b 17.81b 16.38c 11.06a 16.02 3 230 18.03bc 17.06bc 15.43d 10.34a 15.31c 4 653 15.17d 16.29cd 15.16de 10.95a 14.42d 5 947 17.40c 17.07bc 14.93de 10.91a 15.10c 6 237 21.33a 19.56a 18.65a 11.43a 17.77a 7 843 15.52d 15.97d 14.36e 9.83b 13.95d

Trial mean 17.50 17.37 15.75 10.74 15.36

LSD 0.05 0.96 0.97 0.81 0.70 0.66

Note: means with the same letter within a column are not significantly different by DMRT at alpha = 0.05.

TABLE 5. ABWT (kg palm-1 yr-1) BETWEEN 1995 AND 1998 IN TRIAL 0.284 IN MPOB LAHAD DATU, SABAH, MALAYSIA

Agency No. of palms 1995 1996 1997 1998 Mean 95-98

1 743 9.16bc 10.48bc 11.49d 12.49bc 10.76c 2 950 9.01bc 10.81ab 11.98abc 13.42a 11.08b 3 230 9.21b 10.40c 11.67cd 12.89ab 10.71c 4 653 9.97a 11.06a 12.21ab 12.94ab 11.46a 5 947 9.95a 11.09a 12.37a 13.13a 11.47a 6 237 8.88c 10.40c 10.96e 12.08c 10.41d 7 843 9.23b 10.80abc 11.80bcd 13.15a 11.18b

Trial mean 9.41 10.81 11.91 13.00 11.13

LSD 0.05 0.32 0.37 0.43 0.56 0.28

Note: means with the same letter within a column are not significantly different by DMRT at alpha = 0.05.

rect consequences on O/B and kernel to bunch The bunch quality components of the trial (K/B). The quality traits of direct economic impli- are shown in Table 9. Of most concern is the cations are the oil per palm per year (OPY), ratio of O/B, as oil is the primary product in oil kernel per palm per year (KPY) and the total palm cultivation. Fruit to bunch (F/B), mesocarp economic product (TEP). Selecting for large to fruit (M/F), shell to fruit (S/F), kernel to fruit fruits with high mean fruit weight (MFW) is also (K/F), and oil to dry mesocarp (O/DM) have di- sought after in breeding programmes for high oil

27 Oil Palm Bulletin 43

TABLE 6. MEAN SQUARES FOR FFB BETWEEN 1995 AND 1998 IN TRIAL 0.284

Source df 1995 1996 1997 1998 Mean 95-98

Agencies 6 116 661.37** 79 983.71** 83 277.35** 26 603.71** 54 802.43** Error 4 596 4 950.51 6 659.90 5 553.68 4 953.81 2 948.80

Note: **significant at P < 0.01.

TABLE 7. MEAN SQUARES FOR BNO BETWEEN 1995 AND 1998 IN TRIAL 0.284

Source df 1995 1996 1997 1998 Mean 95-98

Agencies 6 2 242.49** 1 005.05** 1 097.66** 160.05** 859.82** Error 4 596 57.11 57.77 40.77 29.92 26.64

Note: **significant at P < 0.01.

TABLE 8. MEAN SQUARES FOR ABWT BETWEEN 1995 AND 1998 IN TRIAL 0.284

Source df 1995 1996 1997 1998 Mean 95-98

Agencies 6 130.99** 45.55** 105.78** 100.23** 75.11** Error 4 596 6.48 8.29 11.27 19.19 4.90

Note: ** significant at P < 0.01. yield. While current planting materials have The mean O/B of the trial was 22.73% been selected for high early bunch yields, mate- (Table 9), lower than that obtained for the Hulu rials that give high O/B from the very first har- Paka trial (25.5%). Consequently, OPY and TEP vest are also much sought after. Selection for were also low. The quality of fruits and bunches high O/B among precocious palms is a possible of the agencies differed significantly by DMRT avenue towards achieving high extraction ratio (Table 9) and ANOVA (Table 10). Agency 5 had in the early stages of palm development. Unless excellent bunch and fruit qualities, with rela- palms with the genes for high early O/B produc- tively larger fruits and kernels, thin shells and tion can be selected from among the wild high oil extraction ratios. Agency 6, with compa- germplasm collections, selection for negatively rable quality traits to those of Agency 5, was correlated traits will require strong selection highest in OPY, KPY and TEP. This was due to pressure over a long period of time. As bunch the high FFB yield resulting from high BNO. analysis in current selection procedures analyses Apparently, high mean fruit weight improved palms in the first few years of bearing, selection the oil extraction ratios but the main contribu- for O/B has, perhaps, been unconsciously select- tion was, however, largely due to the FFB as ing for palms with high early oil extraction ratios shown by Agency 6 (Table 9). together with high early bunch yields. In a simi- lar way, ortets for clonal propagation may also have been selected for these traits. CONCLUSION

Current DxP seed production is generally con- ACKNOWLEDGEMENT fined to Deli dura and AVROS pisifera. A very important aspect of seed production is the purity The authors wish to thank the Director-General of the crosses (free from dura contamination). of MPOB for permission to publish this paper. However, contamination has persisted in seed produc- We acknowledge the co-operation of the industry tion despite stringent quality control. Thus, there is a breeders in contributing the planting materials. need to step up and maintain the quality standards in seed production.

28 Yield Potential of Various Sources of Planting Materials in Malaysia: Second Round Evaluation ) -1 yr -1 1 875.71** (kg palm O/WM F/B O/B K/B OPY O/WM F/B O/B K/B OPY KPY TEP O/DM O/DM IN MPOB LAHAD DATU, SABAH, MALAYSIA IN MPOB LAHAD DATU, SABAH, MALAYSIA TABLE 9. MEAN BUNCH QUALITY COMPONENTS IN TRIAL 0.284 TABLE 10. MEAN SQUARES FOR BUNCH QUALITY COMPONENTS IN TRIAL 0.284 6.35 28.99 6.04 15.05 10.23 63.32 74.34 24.95 2.81 197.76 9.31 80.99 8.13 10.89 75.31 49.18 57.26 22.73 4.69 40.78 8.35 45.79 0.41 0.88 0.40 0.64 0.52 1.30 1.41 0.82 0.27 2.31 0.60 2.51 No. of MFW M/F K/F S/F samples (g) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) 0.05 Note: ** significant at P < 0.01. Agency 123 4734 617a 10.09 5 135 81.65 ab6cd 8.60 434 82.03 ab7 8.35 8.91 bc 571c 10.00 81.53 abMean 9.29 bd 7.37 152bc 75.01 80.69 bcLSD 7.93 bcac 9.79 10.60 a 50.24 370 10.54 cc 80.47 75.37 b 7.84 dc 8.47 57.04 ab 75.24 b 80.84 bc 11.47 b 48.01 b 9.28 ba 8.84 23.30 ab 48.04 bbc 79.41 d 74.53 4.79 c 8.89 ac 10.69 57.93 ab 43.33 abb 8.85 c 57.58 10.27 48.44 ab 76.31 a b 22.74 bcbc 8.09 e 4.29 22.54 48.64 ab bc 75.08 bc 12.50 a 50.32 a 56.40 bc 40.95 bc 4.61 cdc7.67 49.39 abbc 75.10 38.83 cdc7.84 21.94 58.56 a cd 45.55 cd 49.26 abSource 56.71 bc 4.45 de 43.53 de 23.62 a 37.96 d 22.56 bcc 55.52 c7.67 a 5.23 df 5.05 abError 44.30 21.63 dab 41.61 ba 42.57 9.18 9.95 e 4.52 cde 38.50 dc 745 bc MFW 47.12 7.91 2 50.27 a 43.24 de M/F K/F S/F Agency 6 143.20** 337.67** 132.40** 371.15** 150.68** 421.50** 463.21** 222.33** 55.04** Notes: means with the same letter within a column are not significantly different by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. MFW = mean fruit weightO/DM =oil to dry mesocarpbunchto oil = O/B fruitto mesocarp = M/F O/WM = oil to wet mesocarp OPY = oil per palm year F/B = fruit to bunchfruitto kernel = K/F KPY= kernel per palm per year TEP = fruit K/B total = to kernel to economic shell bunch = product S/F

29 Oil Palm Bulletin 43

REFERENCES KUSHAIRI, A; RAJANAIDU, N; Jalani, B S and ZAKRI, A H (1994). Variation in dura x pisifera planting BEIRNAERT, A and VANDERWEYEN, R materials. 1. Bunch yield. Elaeis, 6(1): 14-24. (1941). Contribution a l’etude genetique et biometrique des varieties d’Elaeis guineensis Jacq. Publ. INEAC Ser. Sci. 27: 101 pp.

GASCON, J P and de BERCHOUX, C (1964). Caracteristiques de la production d’Elaeis guineensis Jacq. Et la leurs croisments – appli- cation a la du palmier a huile. Oleagineux, 19(2): 75-84.

KUSHAIRI, A (1992). Prestasi baka kelapa sawit dura x pisifera di Malaysia. M. Sc. thesis. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Bangi. 149 pp.