The challenge that the oil palm industry will face in the 21st century is the ability to maintain profitability in the face of labour shortage and limited land resources. MPOB has identified genetic engineering as a promising technology to overcome the above limitations. Establishment of a reliable transformation and regeneration system is essential for genetic […]

The basal stem rot (BSR) caused by species of Ganoderma, a basidiomycete fungus, remains the major disease of oil palm in Southeast Asia. In Malaysia, serious incidence of BSR is no longer restricted to Peninsular Malaysia, but also in Sabah and Sarawak (Ariffin and Idris, 2002). Diagnosis of Ganoderma infection in oil palm is based […]

Bactris gasipaes, also known as pejibaye or peach palm is widely grown in Central and South America. MPOB has obtained seeds from Hawaii, Costa Rica and the Department of Agriculture, Sabah. The palms are established in MPOB Research Station, Kluang. The Department of Agriculture, Sabah, is also maintaining a small collection of Bactris palms. Bactris […]

The past 10 years have seen an explosion in the amount of sequence information available in the public databases. This growth has had a profound effect on the way scientists direct their research. Similarly, the next few years will also see huge increases in the amount of information on genes and proteins expressed in organisms. […]

In vitro propagation of oil palm involves the exploitation of rapid multiplication and regeneration potential of plant cells in the laboratory to generate large numbers of clonal planting materials. This process has many stages and involves selection of explant, media composition, environmental conditions and personnel. These may introduce variables into the system and require an […]