Phenology of the oil palm interspecific hybrid Elaeis oleifera × Elaeis guineensis

Abstract

Oil palm is one of the most important oil crops in the world. Because of its high productivity and perennial nature, it has been expanding quickly. Commercial plantations consist mostly of the African palm E. guineensis Jacq. However, producers in Latin America are increasingly planting the O × G interspecific hybrid, a cross between African palm (E. guineensis) and the American palm (E. oleifera (Kunth) Cortés). This interspecific hybrid has emerged as a promising solution to diseases such as the bud rot of oil palm because of the apparent partial resistance of this genotype to the disease. This work studied and described the phenology of the O × G interspecific hybrid. The phenology stages were coded using the BBCH scale. The scale for the phenophases was defined using a three-digit code. Due to the nature of the palm, no descriptions were used for stage two (formation of side shoots/tillering) and stage four (development of harvestable vegetative plant parts or vegetative reproductive organs) because these stages do not apply to oil palm. The scale was constructed using germinating seeds, pre-nursery and nursery plants and five year-old palms. For the description of the stem elongation, different age palms of the same O × G hybrid were used. Observations were performed during an 18-month period. Additionally, the interval for the change from one phenology stage to another was determined both in days and degree-days (DD). The interspecific O × G hybrid required 6408 DD from when the spear leaf unfolds until the bunch was ripened and harvested, and 4427.6 DD from leaf unfolding to anthesis.

Lipase activity, mesocarp oil content, and iodine value in oil palm fruits of Elaeis guineensis, Elaeis oleifera, and the interspecific hybrid O×G (E. oleifera × E. guineensis)

“…Palms from each genotype were selected at random. One mature bunch was harvested from each palm at phenological stage 807; these harvest criteria were described by Hormaza et al and Forero et al 21,22 and are often used by the Colombian oil palm industry.…”

Crude Palm Oil from Interspecific Hybrid Elaeis oleifera × E. guineensis: Alcoholic Constituents of Unsaponifiable Matter

“…Interspecific hybridization between the oil palm native to central and northern South America [Elaeis oleifera (Kunth) Cortés] and the African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) has been exploited with the objective of developing varieties as productive as African oil palm together with resistance to disease and reduced height [1]. The fruit mesocarp of interspecific hybrid Elaeis oleifera × E. guineensis (O×G) provide a crude oil that contains higher amount of oleic acid (>55 %) and lower amounts of saturated fatty acids (palmitic and stearic) with respect to the common oil palm Elaeis guineensis.…”

Physiological response of oil palm interspecific hybrids (Elaeis oleifera H.B.K. Cortes versus Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) to water deficit

“…Seedlings with the second lanceolate leaf fully opened, stage 112 (Hormaza et al, 2012), were kept at field capacity for one month before being subjected to different soil water potentials in a 60-day period. The depth of irrigation to be applied in each water potential was calculated taking into account the effective root depth, physical characteristics of the soil (texture, apparent density, and moisture retention curve), and soil moisture was monitored daily with a SM-200 soil moisture sensor (DELTA-T, Cambridge, the United Kingdom) attached to the manual HH2 datalogger (DELTA-T, Cambridge, the United Kingdom).…”