GenomeSelect®
Producing More with Less to Stop Deforestation
A transformative increase in yield has the potential to enable our entire oil palm industry to meet global vegetable oil demand without expanding into forests. In 2009, we sequenced, assembled and annotated the oil palm’s genome, advancing our understanding of the genetic makeup of our valuable breeding populations. With over a decade of large-scale data analytics and breeding programmes, a DNA prediction model for superior yield traits is finally in place, enabling us to produce the latest higher-yielding seeds, the GenomeSelect®!
In 15 to 20 years, once all our existing Malaysian plantations have been planted with GenomeSelect®, we can produce 300,000 tonnes of extra palm oil to feed 15 million people.
Publishing our Research on the Oil Palm Genome Sequence
When we achieved a breakthrough in our oil palm genome research, we knew it was essential to share it with the world. Our aim is to increase the number of companies and individuals committed to fighting deforestation. We have put our research findings into the public domain to enable others to accelerate their research on increasing palm oil yield. By doing so, we can collectively produce more oil using less land across the palm oil industry.
- Over 10 years of research and RM150 million of investments in R&D.
- Establishing one of the biggest genotyping labs in Southeast Asia.
- Continuously striving to improve knowledge of the oil palm genome for oil palm yield enhancement, and making this information publicly available for the benefit of the industry
- Clearer route map to identify genetic markers for other crucial oil palm traits, including climate resilience and disease resistance.
- Relevant to increasing yield beyond palm oil for other palm industries such as dates and coconut.
Click below to view our research publications on the oil palm genome:
The Plants Journal
The National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)