Besides using the F1 hybridisation method, are any other ways one can use to produce F1 hybrid oil palm seeds?
The key reason why F1 oil palm hybrids did not exist before this is because oil palm breeders have not managed to produce plants with two identical sets of chromosomes, or homozygous parents, successfully until now. Alternative methods such as inbreeding and anther culture were either not viable or have been unsuccessful so far. The European Patent Office has published a Patent Application by Sumatra Bioscience on its process to produce F1 oil palm hybrids. The patentable process is the first of its kind and thereby potentially allowing it to become the first commercial producer of F1 oil palm hybrids.
