Molecular breeding in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis): Status and future perspectives

The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) belongs to the family Arecaceae which is commonly known as African oil palm. The oil palm was known to be originated from West Africa. Based on the recent findings, as per the highest allelic diversity. The genus of oil palm Elaeis consists of two taxonomically well defined species, i.e., one is African oil palm (E. guineensis) and second is Americal oil palm (Elaeis oleifera). Palm oil derived from oil palm is in high demand due to its more production of edible oil among the major oil yielding crops, more nutritional properties and competitive price. Malaysia and Indonesia are the major palm oil producers and exporters globally. Oil palm is a tropical crop with a theoretical potential oil yield capacity of 10 t/ha, however current trends are far below the potential oil yields, which varied between 2–6 t/ha of oil. Till recently traditional breeding played a very important role in the increasing oil yield, however trait improvement was limited by the long breeding cycle of the crop (9–15 years) and narrow gene pool. A major breakthrough which revolutionised the oil palm industry was started with the invention of single gene inheritance for shell thickness (Sh gene). The present review deals with the present status and future perspectives of molecular breeding of oil palm at global level.