Elaeis guineensis and Elaies oleifera are the two species of oil palm. In Malaysia, E. guineensis is the major crop planted since it produces high oil yield. However, E. oleifera produces higher unsaturated oil compared to E. guineensis but has lower yield. E. oleifera also has the advantage of slow height increment. In order to introgress the high unsaturation oil trait into E. guineensis, oil palm breeders have crossed these two species to produce OxG hybrids. The advantages of OxG hybrids compared to E. guineensis are (i) the oil is more unsaturated, and (ii) the height increment is slower. However, the hybrids suffer from disadvantages of poor oil yield.

Main Research: Maria Madon