Started in 1986, ASD's tissue culture research unit will expand into commercial scale clone production in 1999. The production of clones free of abnormalities and techniques to preserve ramets (in test tubes for over a year with a minimum growth) are among ASD's latest success. The new laboratory under construction will allow ASD to initially produce 250,000 ramets per year of elite tenera palms by the year 2001.

The tissue culture process is as follows:

• Field selecton of ortets 
• Obtaining of explants
• Beginning of the callus
• Embryogenesis induction
• Bud regeneration
• Taking root
• Acclimatization of the ramets
• Field evaluation of the clones

The potential of "in vitro" propagation of oil palm can be easily understood when realizing that a theoretical potential of 10 tons/ha/yr of oil has been estimated for oil palm, but commercial plantations very rarely get above 7 tons of oil/ha/yr. One important reason for this is that, in spite of a narrow genetic background, palms coming from the same cross show an important degree of variation in yield. Of course, the average bunch and oil yields can be improved over the years by the breeding process.

However, the average yield is still limited by the palms with yields on the lower side of the production curve. Therefore, in vitro propagation of elite highest yielding palms obviously will increase yields in a significant way.

A very promising genetic material, exclusive of ASD, is the so called "Compact". It shows very short leaves and reduced trunk growth rate, as a result of an interspecies cross between the African ( Elaeis guineensis ) and the American ( E. Oleifera ) oil palms. Compact ortets planted at 180 palms per hectare have a potential to produce between 12 and 19 t of oil/ha/yr, using current commercial extraction values.