The Influence of Maturity, Storage, and Embryo Size on Coconut Callus Induction Success

Abstract

Coconut palms (Cocos nucifera L.) are globally significant palms with both economic and cultural value. Despite the increasing demand for coconut products, production is decreasing globally due to palm senility, pests, and diseases. It has been estimated that over half of the world’s coconut palms need to be replaced immediately. The coconut industry has acknowledged that conventional propagation methods are unlikely to yield sufficient high-quality planting material. Therefore, coconut tissue culture is considered a potential solution to this problem. By using coconut tissue culture, a large number of plantlets can be obtained in a short period of time. In this study, the quality of explants and the development stage (visible shoot/non-visible shoot) of coconut used for micropropagation were examined. To our knowledge, little research has been undertaken on this aspect of coconut micropropagation. Our results indicated that tender coconut fruit exhibited an advantage over mature fruits. In addition, coconut plumule explants subjected to an extended storage of 15 days demonstrated enhanced development compared to those without storage. Notably, smaller embryos utilized as explants displayed superior callus formation compared to their larger counterparts. Finally, embryos possessing shoots exhibited improved callus initiation, albeit accompanied by a more pronounced browning effect. Further investigations are required to obtain more knowledge about the most suitable conditions for plumule explants that lead to optimal callus initiation.