J Am Oil Chem Soc DOI 10.1007/s11746-015-2765-6 1 3 ORIGINAL PAPER Yield Analysis of Oil Palm Cultivated Under Irrigation in the Brazilian Savanna Daniel Aparecida do Amaral Teles 1 · Marcelo Fideles Braga 1 · Rosemar Antoniassi 2 · Nilton Tadeu Vilela Junqueira 1 · José Ricardo Peixoto 3 · Juaci Vitoria Malaquias 1 Received: 1 May 2015 / Revised: 12 November 2015 / Accepted: 17 November 2015 © AOCS 2015 cultivars in the Brazilian Amazonia and for other genotypes in Indonesia, Sumatra, and Malaysia. Both cultivars proved to be promising in terms of oil yield in a trail carried out at 1000 m of altitude under irrigation at Cerrado Biome in Brazil. Keywords Irrigated oil palm · Brazilian Savanna · Oil content · Oil yield · Elaeis guineensis Jacq Introduction In 2005, palm oil production surpassed that of soybean oil, and since then it occupies the first place in the world in pro- duction and consumption of oils and fats. This trend con- tinues to the present day, accounting for more than 65.15 million tons of oil estimated to be produced in 2015/2016 [1] while the Brazilian production increased from 250,000 metric tonnes in 2010 to 340,000 in 2013 [2]. Palm oil presents the highest oil production with an aver- age of 3.68 ton ha -1 year -1 which corresponds to between eight and ten times more oil per hectare compared with annual oilseeds such as rapeseed or soybean, respectively. It produces two types of oils from the same fruit—palm oil from the flesh or mesocarp and palm kernel oil from the seed or kernel inside the hard-shell [3]. The oil palm breeding program of Embrapa West- ern Amazon (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corpo- ration) developed seven Tenera hybrids between the African parental varieties of Elaeis guineensis (Jacq.) Dura (source Deli) and Pisifera (source La Mé): BRS C1001, BRS C2301, BRS C2328, BRS C2501, BRS C2528, BRS C3701, and BRS C7201. The main char- acteristics of these intraspecific hybrids are an average trunk growth rate of 45 cm y -1 ; a palm bunch yield of Abstract The oil palm is currently a major source of oil used worldwide for biofuel production and food. In Brazil, it is grown in high rainfall and high temperature regions. The high cost of this oil crop in the Brazilian Amazonia, combined with environmental and land ownership issues and the occurrence of diseases, has aroused consider- able interest in growing it in other regions of the country, including the Savanna (Cerrado) Biome. This study aimed to evaluate, for 1 year, the fruit bunch, the oil yield, and other parameters of two oil palm cultivars (BRS C1001 and BRS C2501) under the typical Savanna conditions in the Federal District, Brazil. Differences between these cultivars were observed in some parameters evaluated throughout the year (p < 0.05). The oil yield/bunch ranged from 25 to 32 and 29 to 36 % for BRS C2501 and BRS C1001 culti- vars, respectively and similar to those obtained for the same * Rosemar Antoniassi rosemar.antoniassi@embrapa.br Daniel Aparecida do Amaral Teles daniel_amaral_teles@hotmail.com Marcelo Fideles Braga marcelo.fideles@embrapa.br Nilton Tadeu Vilela Junqueira nilton.junqueira@embrapa.br Juaci Vitoria Malaquias juaci.malaquias@embrapa.br 1 Embrapa Cerrados, BR 020 km 18, Planaltina, DF CEP 73310-970, Caixa Postal: 08223, Brazil 2 Embrapa Food Technology, Av. das Américas no. 29.501, Guaratiba, Cep: 23020-470 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil 3 Faculdade de Agronomia e Medicina Veterinária. Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Universidade de Brasília, ICC Sul, Asa Norte, Caixa Postal 04508, CEP: 70910-900 Brasília, DF, Brazil