November 2008

Editorial

The year 2008 has marked the consolidation of new technologies in ASD’ Seed Processing Unit and the time when ASD introduced new varieties into the marked to satisfy the specific needs of some of our clients. The well recognized ASD brand has been maintained to back the high quality of the seeds, but the company has changed its name to Compact Seeds and Clones to improve shipment processes and the service to our clients.

The global increase in oil consumption by a constantly expanding population and the possibility of producing biodiesel economically have fueled a real explosion in the development of new projects for planting extensive areas with oil palm or the expansion of some established projects. ASD has been in the middle of all this commotion of the seed market and wishes to share with all its clients its actual achievements and future plans to remain a source of quality planting materials and an innovator in the industry. Such is the objective of this newsletter, which we expect to publish regularly, in order to stay in close touch with our regular clients and those that we hope will become convinced that ASD offers the best oil palm planting materials in the market. Our compromise is to share our knowledge and technology to guarantee the success of all our customers.

Now with brand new seed processing facilities!

Since mid-2007, the oil palm seed marked has been experiencing an unprecedented boom, and ASD wants to remain a reliable seed supplier, dispatching its products within a reasonably period of time. The old buildings from where we sent out many millions of seeds had to be abandoned and new facilities were built to keep pace with the constantly increasing demand. New, more efficient technologies have been incorporated to increase the production of commercially valuable seeds while maintaining product quality.

Initially, the planning process was slow since there were many actors involved whose opinions had to be considered. There was a need to use space efficiently and guarantee a smooth and efficient process and a pleasant working environment.

Total investment was high; particularly for the construction of very large rooms with controlled light, temperature and humidity to guarantee maximum efficiency in every process. New equipment had to be bought or built to ensure optimal operations. The results, after more than a year of continuous work are more than evident for all our visitors who can corroborate that ASD now possesses what are probably the most modern and efficient facilities for oil palm seed processing in all tropical America, surpassing the standards of rival companies in the world. As a matter of fact, many of our innovations have been adopted by some of our competitors.

ASD acknowledges the dedication of chief architect Karina Saman and the direction of Eng. Fernando Rojas in successfully completing this project.

A color for each variety

In addition to their genetic characteristics, ASD’ oil palm seeds can now be differentiated visually, thanks to a new technology for covering the seeds with polymers. This technology confers several obvious advantages to the seeds such a better protection against pathogen attacks (the polymer is impregnated with a fungicide) and reduction of moisture loss during seed storage. It also allows buyers to distinguish the product from other seed brands, and protects them from obtaining illegitimate seed.

The seeds of the more popular varieties now have a distinctive appearance: green for Deli x Nigeria, blue for Deli x Ghana, silver for the compacts , golden for hybrid seeds and red for other traditional varieties (Deli x AVROS, Deli x Ekona, Deli x La Mé and Evolution). Our clients have embraced this innovation enthusiastically, claiming that these seeds show better emergence of higher quality seedlings. The enthusiastic and methodic work of Eng. Silvia Mora and the support of the Director of the Seed Processing Unit, M.Sc. Sergio Mora have been key points in the development and implementation of this technology.

A packing system that protects the seed and facilitates planting?

In its ongoing search for innovation, ASD is developing a new packing system for shipping germinated seeds that will ensure they reach any destination without mechanical damage, with a fresh and healthy appearance.

The traditional packing system used transparent plastic bags with polyurethane foam to protect the germinated seeds. This method served its purpose for years and guaranteed product quality, but there was always room for improvement. Now, plastic, to some extent rigid containers, which are internally lined with porous polyurethane-film provide a more secure environment for seeds in transit.

Initial shipments using this packing have been very successful, and our clients are finding new advantages, such as the possibility of carrying the container directly to the planting site and eliminating the need for extra containers, which cuts down on extra seed handling. Besides, the use of polyurethane foam, a potential environmental contaminant, is eliminated.

The new packing system is being improved and will be part of our product presentation in the near future, adding a touch of distinction to ASD’ seeds. These innovations are the result of our Seed Processing Unit’s team work, where the inventiveness of Silvia Mora and Sergio Mora had made the difference.

ASD pays attention to special needs of its clients: the OxG hybrids

Spear and bud rots are the most destructive disorders of the oil palm in tropical America. The most common Spanish name for these conditions is PC (pudrición del cogollo). While little is known about the causing agent or predisposing factors of these disorders, we do know that American oil palm (Elaeis oleifera) and African oil palm (E. guineensis) hybrids show variable degrees of disease tolerance or resistance.

It is expected that the lower oil content in the hybrids will be compensated with higher bunch production and better (less saturated) oil quality when compared with ‘guineensis’ varieties. However, one important inconvenience of traditional OxG hybrids is their need for assisted pollination, which increases production costs appreciably.

ASD has accumulated an important collection of E. oleifera germoplasm from many tropical American regions. Furthermore, ASD also has important pollen sources that can be used to combine with the selected ‘oleifera’ mother palms. The result has been the creation of two new OxG hybrids for the market, which offer an alternative to many desperate producers in zones where PC is present and has caused severe losses to old ‘guineensis’ varieties.

ASD’ s hybrid program is aimed at solving the most important problems of traditional OxG materials: lower oil contents, vigorous vegetative growth (they must be planted at lower planting densities) and the need of assisted pollination. Our two new hybrids represent a step forward toward this goal.

Our new Brunca hybrid (named for an Indian tribe that once flourished in Costa Rica) uses Central America ‘oleifera’ mother palms crossed with pollen of Ghana origin (the same that is used to produce the commercial Deli x Ghana variety). The result is a hybrid with rather short leaves (that could be planted at higher densities than other OxG hybrids). An interesting feature of this hybrid is that after more than four years of planted in Costa Rica and Eastern Ecuador, it has been producing very well without assisted pollination so far.

The other OxG hybrid, called Amazon, uses ‘oleifera’ mother palms originally collected from the Brazilian Amazonia crossed with pollen of compact origin1. This hybrid has leaves that are definitively shorter than those of other traditional hybrids, and they are expected to perform well when planted at densities of 143 palms/ha. Another feature of this hybrid is that it has a higher proportion of ‘oleifera’ genes than any other hybrid, since the compact parent also contributes these genes. This genetic make up could render it more PC- tolerant than other hybrids with only 50% of ‘oleifera’ genes.