Bunch component performance of AVROS and Yangambi population

Abstract

The IOPRI oil palm breeding program has developed a total of 11 varieties through two selection cycles since 1974, using the RRS scheme. The performance of the varieties from the first and second cycles in the AVROS and Yangambi groups was compared using data from progeny test bunch analysis. The AV-02 variety from the second cycle of AVROS line showed an increase in fruit/bunch (F/B) and oil extraction rate (OER) by 0.92% and 0.50%, respectively, compared to the AV-01 variety from the first cycle. The AV-03 variety increased mesocarp/fruit (M/F) to 4.92% and OER to 1.21%. However, M/F and OER enhancement was compensated by kernel/fruit (K/F) and shell/fruit (S/F) decrease by 2.35% and 2.57%. In the Yangambi group, the YA-02 variety from the second cycle had an improved average weight bunch (AWB) of 4.00 kg or 21.4% greater than the YA-01 variety from the first cycle. The YA-02 AWB improvement was followed by an increase in M/F and K/F by 0.87% and 0.30%. The YA-03 variety had better kernel characters with a rise in K/F and S/F of 0.54% and 0.44%, and OER still increased by 0.57%, which may be due to its oil/dry mesocarp (ODM) increase. CART® analysis showed that the F/B, ODM, and M/F were the three highest predictors for OER values for all varieties, except for YA-02 with F/B, S/F, and M/F, and YA-03 with M/F, F/B, and S/F. ODM is an important consideration in the assembly of high-yielding varieties, as it is one of the three major predictor characters that affect OER values which highly inherited.