Poor fruit set has been reported at specific sites by some oil palm plantations and is a growing concern, especially in peat areas. The malformed and parthenocarpic fruits, if severe, could eventually affect productivity especially oil yield.Insufficient pollen source due to the low numbers of male inflorescence (MI) and scant breeding sites for the pollinating insects leads to poor fruit set, resulting in lower fresh fruit bunch (FFB) and oil yield (Norman et al., 2018). Insufficient supply of viable pollens affects the pollination efficiency of Elaiedobius kamerunicus, the oil palm’s natural pollinator. Planting highly productive DxP and clonal palms at high density in such areas further aggravates the situation. As a consequence, high number of parthenocarpic fruitlets and malformed bunches are observed in some cases (Harun and Noor, 2002), eventually affecting oil yield.

Main researcher: Siti Rahmah Abdul Rahman
E-mail: sitirahmah.ar@mpob.gov.my