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SD Guthrie's innovative genomic-assisted oil palm breeding technology, known as GenomeSelect, has demonstrated remarkable success, delivering up to 33.8 per cent higher oil yield per hectare after a decade of commercial deployment. Launched commercially in 2016, this advanced planting material has not only met but significantly surpassed its initial productivity target, reinforcing the crucial role of scientific innovation in enhancing sustainable palm oil production.
The original aim for GenomeSelect was to achieve a 15 per cent increase in oil yield per hectare compared to the group's previous generation of oil palm seeds, Calix600. However, commercial field data collected over the past ten years has revealed that the technology has more than doubled this ambitious goal. Dr. David Ross Appleton, SD Guthrie's Chief Innovation and Technology Officer, highlighted this achievement as a successful transition of scientific research into tangible gains for the plantation sector.
'When GenomeSelect was first introduced, our goal was to use genomic science to accelerate the development of better planting materials,' Dr. Appleton stated. 'Ten years on, we are seeing the results at commercial scale. What started as a breakthrough in the laboratory has proven its value in the field, delivering significantly higher oil productivity across multiple soil types and planting environments.'
The origins of GenomeSelect trace back to 2009, when Guthrie successfully sequenced and annotated its first oil palm genome. This foundational work allowed researchers to identify superior planting materials much earlier than traditional breeding methods. The technology's innovative nature earned international recognition in 2017 with a prestigious Edison Award under the Energy and Sustainability category, marking SD Guthrie as the first Malaysian company to receive such an accolade. Commercial harvests incorporating GenomeSelect began in 2019 and have consistently outperformed conventional planting materials ever since.
Recent commercial evaluations, encompassing 2,083 hectares of productive GenomeSelect plantings established between 2016 and 2019, further substantiate these improvements. Compared to Calix600, GenomeSelect recorded a 33.8 per cent increase in oil yield per hectare on coastal soils, 32.6 per cent on inland soils, and 29.8 per cent on basaltic soils. This enhanced productivity is primarily attributed to stronger fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production and improved oil-to-bunch ratios, enabling a greater volume of oil to be extracted from the same land area.
Dr. Appleton emphasized that oil yield per hectare remains the most critical benchmark for plantation productivity. 'The most important metric is not just bunch yield, but how much oil we can produce from every hectare planted,' he explained. 'Our latest commercial evaluations show GenomeSelect delivering up to 33.8 per cent higher oil yield per hectare compared with our previous generation planting materials. That is a significant leap in productivity and one that supports both business performance and sustainability goals.'
To date, over 24,000 hectares across SD Guthrie's estates have been planted with GenomeSelect. The company plans to integrate this technology into all its replanting activities in Malaysia by 2027. Looking ahead, Dr. Appleton noted that future research will extend beyond mere yield improvement, focusing on developing oil palms with greater resilience and operational efficiency.
'The future of oil palm planting materials lies in developing smarter palms, not just higher-yielding ones,' Dr. Appleton elaborated. 'While yield remains an important priority, genomic technology is now being extended to enhance GenomeSelect with a broader range of agronomic traits, including climate resilience, disease tolerance, and improved harvest efficiency. Together with advances in artificial intelligence, precision breeding, and clonal technologies, these innovations will enable plantations to improve productivity, harvesting efficiency, sustainability, and profitability.' He concluded that GenomeSelect exemplifies how genomics can empower the agricultural sector to produce more from existing land, an increasingly vital objective amidst rising global demand for food and edible oils.
Source: Newswav