Performance of fatty acid composition, iodine value, carotene content, height
and height increment of oil palm interspecific hybrids
A total of sixteen oil palm interspecific hybrid progenies were evaluated for their fatty acid composition, iodine value, carotene content, height and height increment at Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Bagan Datuk, Malaysia. Based on the results, unsaturated fatty acids were higher with a range of 60% compared to current breeding materials. Iodine value showed a considerable amount of the oil palm interspecific hybrid which was around 65. Carotene among some individuals showed an outstanding value of 3424 ppm. Height and height increment showed lower value than current breeding materials with an average 0.17 m height increment per year. Heritability values showed that the genetic component gave higher influence towards height and height increment while the fatty acid composition and carotene content were largely influenced by the environment.