With the current labour shortage in the Malaysian plantation sector, the time spent on collection of loose fruits can have serious repercussions on productivity in the oil palm industry. In fact, as a result of labour shortage, one of the areas most neglected in harvesting is loose fruit collection (Hoong and Donough, 1998) which has been suggested to be one of the main reasons for the decline in oil extraction rate (OER) in Malaysia (Corley and Law, 2001). The external colour of oil palm fruits before and afterripening can be exploited to reduce loss of yield through inefficient collection ofloose fruits. Oil palms can be distinguished based on the colour of theirfruit coats. The two most common types are nigrescens (Nig) and virescens (Vir) palms (Figure 1). It is this difference in the colour of the coat that has the potential to be exploited for improved yields. Nig fruits are deep violet to black at the apex and pale greenish yellow at the base when unripe, with minimal change in colour on ripening. Harvesters usually rely on fallen detached fruits on the ground to determine the ripeness of the bunch for harvesting. Vir fruits, on the other hand, are green when unripe, and change to lightreddish orange on maturity. Since the Vir fruits undergo a distinct colour change on ripening, it is easierfor harvesters to identify the ripe bunches. The Virtrait is monofactorial and dominant. As such, identification of its allele and introgressing into non-abscising genotypes will allow easier identification of the ripe bunches with reduced crop loss from fallen fruits (Jack et al., 1998).

Main Research: Dr Rajinder Singh