Controlled pollination for interspeciic hybrid American Oil Palm vs Oil Palm seed production Nativa, Sinop, v.4, n.6, p.408-411, nov./dez. 2016. Pesquisas Agrárias e Ambientais DOI: 10.14583/2318-7670.v04n06a11 http://www.ufmt.br/nativa ISSN: 2318-7670 Alex Queiroz CYSNE 1* , Wanderlei Antônio Alves de LIMA 1 , Cristiane KRUG 1 1 Embrapa Amazônia Ocidental, Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil. *E-mail: alex.cysne@embrapa.br ABSTRACT: The interspeciic hybrid American Oil Palm vs Oil Palm has superior characteristics that can be exploited commercially. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of the amount of pollen, reapplication and climatic periods in the production of hybrid seeds of these species. The variables considered in this experiment were climatic season (dry and wet), pollen dosage (15, 25, 40 and 62.5 mg) and repeatability of pollen application (one and two repetitions) in a factorial design with four replications of each combination. There was a signiicant difference in the amount of seed produced in climatic seasons as an effect of the amount of pollen applied and reapplication. In the rainy season, it is recommended the use of 15 mg of pollen without repetition and in the dry season, 40 mg of pollen with repetition. Keywords: Elaeis guineensis, Elaeis oleifera, palm trees, pollen. Polinização controlada para produção de sementes híbridas interespecíicas de caiaué vs dendê RESUMO: O híbrido interespecíico caiaué vs dendê possui características superiores as quais podem ser exploradas comercialmente. Assim, este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da quantidade de pólen, repetição de aplicação e períodos climáticos na produção de sementes híbridas entre essas espécies. Foram considerados neste experimento as variáveis período climático (seco e chuvoso), dosagem de pólen (15, 25, 40 e 62,5 mg) e repetibilidade da aplicação de pólen (uma e duas) em esquema fatorial com quatro repetições cada combinação. Observou-se diferença signiicativa na quantidade de sementes produzidas nos períodos climáticos efeito da quantidade de pólen aplicada e repetição da aplicação. Na estação chuvosa recomenda-se a aplicação de 15 mg de pólen sem repetição e na estação seca 40 mg de pólen com repetição da aplicação. Palavras-chave: Elaeis guineensis, Elaeis oleifera, palmeiras, pólen. Recebido em março/2016; Aceito em agosto/2016. 1. INTRODUCTION Palm oil known as Oil Palm in Brazil (Elaeis guineensis) stands out among the oleaginous species for its high capacity of oil production per unit area (RIOS et al., 2012), what makes it the world’s largest producer of palm oil, with 62.8 million tonnes (United States Department of Agriculture - USDA, 2014). Currently, phytosanitary factors threaten the expansion of Oil Palm cultivation in Brazil. The disease known as Lethal Yellowing (LY) of Oil Palm is a major problem for agricultural development of Latin American countries that grow this crop, particularly Brazil. This disease has caused heavy losses since 1984 and has become spread in the country since the irst report (RAMALHO FILHO et al., 2010). In the state of Pará, which is the largest Oil Palm producer in the country, thousands of Oil Palm trees have been eradicated because of this problem (BOARI, 2008). The interspeciic hybrid (ISH OxG) of Oil Palm with the American species, American Oil Palm (E. oleifera) has emerged as a viable alternative to give continuity to Oil Palm culture in areas affected by the LY because the ISH OxG shows to be resistant to this disease (LOPES et al., 2012). Thus, hybrid seeds are obtained through controlled crossing of American Oil Palm, female parent, with Oil Palm, as male parent (CUNHA & LOPES, 2010). Controlled pollination applied to produce ISH OxG seeds is an adaptation of the procedure used for production Oil Palm seeds (CUNHA et al., 2007). Studies are needed to better understand the process of interspeciic hybridization, as for example, the amount of pollen, frequency of application and best time for applying pollen. According to Cunha et al. (2007), 62.5 mg of pollen should be used for each female inlorescence, but the authors do not describe how many times this application should be performed. Tinker & Corley (2015), in the other hand, do not recommend an optimal amount of pollen, but report the importance of repeating the application due to the irregularity of the sensitive period of female lowers, either in the case of Oil Palm or American Oil Palm trees. These authors also make no considerations with regard to climatic conditions under which controlled pollination should be carried out and if these affect the results of the procedure.