EARLY SIGN OF DWARF STEM TRAIT INHERITANCE IN THIRD CYCLE DURA DERIVED FROM NIGERIAN PROSPECTION MATERIAL - A STUDY IN LARGE POLYBAG NURSERY

Selection for annual increment of short trunk (dwarf) is one of the objectives in this oil palm breeding programme with the expectation of prolonging the economic lifespan of a cycle of field cultivated commercial plantings. Bi-monthly vegetative measurement of seedlings in the main nursery indicates the early inheritance of low height increment trait in the third cycle of duras developed from Nigerian Prospection Material (NPM) of MPOB trial 0.150 as compared to the third cycle of inbred lines Limited Breeding Programme (LBP) dura, which is considered as the traditional Deli dura population. The main nursery measurement showed that the third cycle inbred NPM dura was shorter and the character could have been inherited from the selected second cycle parents. Other agronomical observations related to palm physiology on the uptake of magnesium recorded during the study is also discussed in this paper. Keywords: Oil palm, Nigerian prospection material, nursery growth measures.