Advances in Coconut palm propagation

Abstract

Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) is one of the most important tropical species used by man, known as “tree of life”. In recent decades, with the expansion of coconut growing areas, limitations such as the occurrence of pests, uniformity of crops, adaptation to different ecosystems and others have affected the production and longevity of coconut trees. This review describes the major advances in propagation techniques of coconut palm, conventionally, by seeds and through plant tissue culture techniques from the mid-twentieth century onwards, as well as phytosanitary aspects that should be considered to mitigate the spread of pests and diseases.

Cloning Coconut via Somatic Embryogenesis: A Review of the Current Status and Future Prospects

“…A mini growth chamber has been used in the ex vitro rooting and acclimatization of Kopyor coconut seedlings. This glass chamber was able to acclimatize 40 seedlings at the same time [88] and increased the survival rate of the in vitro-derived coconut seedlings by more than 80% when compared to the standard nursery approaches that yielded around 63% survival [65]. In summary, the gradual optimization of ex vitro environmental factors from those experienced in vitro will increase the survival rate of the seedlings during the acclimatization process.…”

“…The growth and biomass accumulation of tissue culture plants is driven by the assimilation of carbohydrates, nitrogen, phosphate, magnesium, calcium, and other ions. The Y3 medium was specifically developed for coconut tissue culture [18] and is now widely used for most coconut work [64,65]. Within this medium, a high concentration of sucrose (usually > 4%) is used as the main carbohydrate source [64].…”

“…The use of gelling agents and the precise positioning of explants on the medium surface are also not necessary when a liquid medium is used [70]. However, the application of a temporary immersion system, where the explants are immersed in a liquid medium for a specific time and duration per day, may improve growth of germinating somatic embryos, providing the benefits of both solid and liquid medium systems [65], and dramatically increasing the SE-generated plantlet rate for coconut. A liquid medium was used to produce viable cell suspension cultures in coconut; however, they were unable to progress to the next stage because it is challenging to produce friable embryogenic calli for SE initiation [47,71].…”

“…To achieve this, plantlets in vitro are usually exposed to the atmosphere of the culture room, then moved in a time-orderly fashion into a humidity chamber (e.g., a plastic tent or wooden box humidity chamber). Such treatments improved survival of both SE and embryo culture-derived plantlets when compared to a misting chamber [65,87]. A mini growth chamber has been used in the ex vitro rooting and acclimatization of Kopyor coconut seedlings.…”

Physiology Response and Resistance Evaluation of Twenty Coconut Germplasm Resources under Low Temperature Stress

“…Coconut possesses extremely high edible and economic value among tropical fruit trees, for instance, coconut with rich nutrition can not only be tasted as fresh fruit, but also defined as a natural beverage. Additionally, mature coconut pulp is still an important raw material for oil extraction in production and processing, and processed products of coconut leaves, roots, stems, as well as coconut shells are also well received and favored [4]. Besides, coconut with high ornamental value [5] can also be widely used as street tree and garden landscaping, which becomes an iconic landscape plant in the tropics.…”