Oil Palm Biotechnology in India – Past, Present and Future

Research on oil palm in India started during 1960 with the establishment of a research station at Thodupuzha by the Dept. of Agriculture, Kerala. Major achievement is the assemblage of more than hundred germplasm accessions, indigenous seed production and identification of superior hybrid combinations. Biotechnological intervention for oil palm improvement was attempted only during recent years. Oil palm being a cross pollinated crop with very long generation time, developing pure line is almost impossible. There is no common method of vegetative propagation applicable for this palm and hence, regeneration of an elite palm can be done only by tissue culture. A few protocols on in vitro regeneration of oil palm from seedling explants were reported but they are of not much commercial use since the starting materials were not from elite palms.

At NRCOP, research on the biotechnological aspects started very recently. A novel DNA extraction method was developed for oil palm, genetic diversity studies of the germplasm are in progress using both RAPD as well as SSR markers. Identification of shell thickness marker as a part of marker assisted selection is initiated. A small tissue culture facility is established to develop an indigenous protocol for in vitro regeneration of oil palm. It is realized that biotechnology can be applied as a main tool for oil palm improvement and the aspects which require major attention are as follows: Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) would definitely help in reducing the time for breeding programme at the same time it would be more accurate selection than that of the conventional method. Other than shell thickness, characters for MAS need to be prioritize and mapping population requires to be developed. Genetic diversity analysis using an authentic marker system needs to continue. Developing a tissue culture protocol for regeneration of mature palms is yet another area of importance, which can be used for mass multiplication of an elite tenera, raising separate stand of elite dura and pisifera palms and production of biclonal seeds, and also a base for transformation and development of transgenic oil palm. A few other aspects of biotechnology tools which can be adopted in future course are development of somaclonal variants for widening the variability, pollen culture for haploid development for pure line and in vitro conservation of oil palm.