MPOB scientists scored a major breakthrough by unlocking a puzzle that has mystified the oil palm industry for three decades. The successful development of oil palm tissue culture in the 70s heralded a new era for oil palm crop improvement as it allowed for the mass propagation of thousands of unifo...

THE TERM "Don't judge a book by its cover" will not apply to the case of the VIR gene breakthrough. That's because this VIR (or VIRESCENS) gene determines the outer skin colour of the oil palm fruit as it ripens, which is key to knowing the right time for harvest.Harvesting too early significantly d...

"Palm presents a special problem for conservation efforts," Harrison said. "Naturally palm grows in low-laying tropical area, which is most often valuable and protected land. "A market in desperate need of a rescuer Raviga Sambanthamurthi, director of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board's Advanced Biotechn...

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