Abstract: Methods are provided for obtaining a high-yielding oil palm plant, comprising determining the level of a protein in mesocarp tissue of a fruit of a parental oil palm plant, determining whether there is a difference between the level of the protein in the mesocarp tissue of the fruit of the parental oil palm plant and the level of the protein in mesocarp tissue of a fruit of a reference oil palm plant, and selecting progeny of the parental oil palm plant based on the difference to obtain the high-yielding oil palm plant. Also provided are methods for predicting oil yield of a test oil palm plant and kits for obtaining a high-yielding oil palm plant.