MPOB unlocks oil palm genome

Malaysia-led scientists made a breakthrough with the release of the oil palm genome and discovery of a single gene, called Shell, that will raise palm oil yields towards enhancing the future production and sustainability of the palm oil industry. 

Director-general of The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Datuk Dr Choo Yuen May said the mapping of the oil palm genome would pave the way for many more breakthroughs and helped meet the increasing global demand for food and biofuels while simultaneously preserving the rainforest. 

"As the second largest producer of palm oil in the world, Malaysia has the responsibility to make advancements that will improve the sustainability of oil palm agriculture while improving yields for both small and large growers," she said in a statement today. 

On the Shell gene, she said it was responsible for three known shell forms: Dura (thick), Pisifera (shell-less) and Tenera (thin). 

Tenera palms provide the optimum productivity which results in 30 per cent more oil per land area than Dura palms. 

"With the discovery of the Shell gene, seed producers can now use the Shell gene marker to distinguish the three fruit forms in the nursery long before they are field planted, thus enabling significantly enhanced breeding operations. 

"Currently, it can take six years to identify whether an oil palm plantlet is of the desired shell form," she said. 

MPOB released the oil palm genome map in two landmark, Malaysian-led scientific research papers that will pave way for major implications to meet the increasing global demand. 

The papers, published online on July 24, 2013 ahead of print in Nature, the influential scientific journal, mapped the genome sequence of oil palm and identified Shell critical for palm oil yield. 

The publication of two back-to-back studies in a single edition of this highly respected journal is an unprecedented milestone for Malaysian scientists. 

According to joint corresponding author Dr Ravigadevi Sambanthamurthi, head of the MPOB’s Oil Palm Genome Programme, the Shell marker would also be an important quality control tool in commercial seed production as up to 10 per cent of the plants may be the low-yielding Dura form, due to uncontrollable wind 
and insect pollination. 

Conducted in collaboration with US-based Orion Genomics, the research reported on the Elaeis guineensis genome sequence and tallies nearly 35,000 genes, including the full set of oil biosynthesis genes and other gene regulators, that are highly expressed in the oil-rich palm fruit. 

Elaeis guineensis, which originates in Africa, is the commercial oil palm planted in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. 

Accurate selection for palms with enhanced oil yields will optimise production and help stabilise the acreage devoted to oil palm plantations to provide an opportunity for the conservation of rainforest reserves, the research said.-- Bernama

Read more: MPOB unlocks oil palm genome http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20130725163441/Article/#ixzz2aAQoM7wy

Thai Palm Oil Exports Seen Rising by Oil World as Output Expands By Whitney McFerron July 09, 2013 9:30 AM EDT

Thailand, the world’s third-largest palm oilproducer, may boost exports to a record this year as output increases, Oil World said.

Thailand may export as much as 450,000 metric tons of palm oil, up from 304,000 tons a year earlier, the Hamburg-based researcher said today in an e-mailed report. Shipments totaled 227,000 tons from January through May, up 24 percent from the same time in 2012. While production may “slightly exceed” 1.7 million tons, some analysts’ estimates are as high as 2 million tons, Oil World said. Production five years ago was 1.3 million tons.

“Latest export data confirm a pronounced further uptrend of palm oil production in Thailand, owing to a larger mature area and higher yields,” Oil World said. The European Union “still was the largest destination, but in particular demand from India increased sharply in recent months.”

Palm oil futures are down 1.7 percent this year on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, after declining 23 percent in 2012 on rising output in Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s top producers.

U.S. palm oil imports were a record 145,000 tons in May, up from 59,000 tons in the same month a year earlier, Oil World said. Purchases in the first five months of the year were 575,000 tons, up 46 percent from the same period in 2012. Total net imports of 17 oils and fats in the U.S. were 223,000 tons in May, more than four times higher than last year, according to the report.

15 Months After Field Planting

This is how my palm look like after 15 months of field planting.  It is quite challenging to maintain the palm with the price of FFB of less than RM450 per MT.

The price of inputs has gone up and difficulty of getting workers.