Vegetative characterization to identify oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) plantlet abnormalities

Oil palm clone propagation is still hindered by flowering abnormality due to somaclonal variation. Characterization was done at each plantlet, ramet, and pre-nursery phase. Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was used in this study, and different type of plantlet was used as a treatment with 10 replicates. The result shows 11 different abnormalities observed from plantlet until pre-nursery. Viability rate of normal plantlet can reach up to 80 %, while viability rate of erect plantlet, rosette, curved plantlet, wide internodes plantlet were less than 50 %, but plantlet with less than four leaves was 66.67 %. Other abnormalities were fatal at acclimatization and ramet phase.