COCONUT GENETIC RESOURCES CONSERVATION & UTILIZATION IN INDIA- Dr .Niral

1. V. Niral
Principal Scientist
ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute
Kasaragod
niralv@yahoo.com
th

2. Country Area
(%)
Production (%)
India 15.85 26.85
Indonesia 31.54 25.76
Philippines 27.41 20.90
Other APCC 12.12 12.06
Others 13.08 14.43
Total (%) 100 100
World 12.24 58.22
Percentage share in area & production of
coconut: Major countries
Note: World total area in million hectares
Production in billion nuts
Coconut Development Board, India, 2011
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
India Indonesia Philippines World
nuts/ha
Productivity

3. Coconut - Indian Scenario
 Area - 1.89 million hectares
 Annual production - 16,942 million nuts
 Productivity - 8937 nuts/ha
 Contribution to the GDP -Rs. 8350 crores
 Export earnings - Rs. 2167 crores
 Direct and indirect employment - > 12 million people

4. Coconut - National scenario
State
Area
(000 ha)
Production
(m. nuts)
Productivity
(nuts/ha)
Andhra
Pradesh
104 1042 10024
Karnataka 419 2339 5584
Kerala 788 6239 7918
Tamil Nadu 390 5770 14796
Other States 195 1553 7295
India 1896 16943 8937
• Production - 3.56 % compound growth rate
 Productivity - 2.76 % compound growth rate
Coconut Development Board, India, 2011

5. Coconut production – Present & Future
million nuts
12000
14000
16000
18000
20000
22000
24000
26000
28000
30000
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
2030
2034
2038
2042
2046
demand production
Production Proj. demand: 2050
19000 m. nuts* 26139 m nuts

6. Coconut consumption pattern in India
Production 16942 million nuts
Raw coconuts
50 %
Tender coconuts
8-11 % Copra
35-39 %
Seed nuts
2 %
Industrial
5 %
Processed
1 %
Green Nuts
99 %
Milling
25-28 %
Edible
25-25 %
Coir and coir products
Domestic
95 %

7. Coconut research set up in India
KiduArisikere
Konark
Moandouri
Mohitnagar
Kahikuchi
AliyarnagarPilicode
Navasari
Jagdalpur
Sabour
CPCRI
• HQ – Kasaragod
• Regional Stations
– Kayamkulam, Kerala
– Vittal, Karnataka
• Research Centres
– Kahikuchi, Assam
– Kidu, Karnataka
– Mohitnagar, West Bengal
• Minicoy, Lakshadweep
• AICRP on PALMS: 15

8. Coconut genetic resources
• Backbone for crop improvement
• Coconut genetic resources
 Field gene banks -national and international
gene banks
 Embryos
 Pollen

9. Fruit size
Phenotypic variation
Leaf and bunch attachment
Root distribution
Productive life span
Stem circumference
Initiation of flowering
Mode of pollination
Colour of fruits and petioles
Arrangement of leaf scars on the trunk

10. Coconut genetic resources
Niu Kafa Niu Vai

11. Coconut Genetic Resources in India
• NAGS - CPCRI
International Coconut Gene Bank for South Asia
• CPCRI RC, Kidu
• Indian germplasm
• Member countries
• Indian Ocean Islands
• 85 coconut accessions
Collection Total
Indigenous 301
Exotic 132
Total 433
No. of collections made under NATP/PB
Goa
4%
Maharashtra
5%Assam
7%
Tamil Nadu
8%
Andamans
36%
Kerala
21%
Lakshadweep
19%

12. Region Tall Semi-tall Dwarf Total
South East Asia 16 1 3 20
Central & South America,
Atlantic
6 - 1 7
African Region 4 1 2 7
Pacific Ocean Islands 39 - 6 45
Indian Ocean Islands 30 - 8 38
South Asia 14 1 15
Total 109 2 21 132
Exotic Coconut Germplasm at CPCRI

13. State Total
Kerala 35
Tamil Nadu 22
Karnataka 14
Andhra Pradesh 16
Goa 8
Gujarat 8
Orissa 14
West Bengal 12
Andaman & Nicobar Is 87
Lakshadweep Islands 50
Bihar 4
Maharashtra 7
Assam & NEH 30
Total 301
CPCRI - Indigenous Coconut Germplasm

14. Coconut genetic resources – Characterization
 Germplasm characterization - 70 traits
 Vegetative
 Reproductive
 Fruit component traits
 Tender nut
 Yield
 Biochemical
 Molecular

15. Characteristics of oil Accession/Hybrid
Low saturated/unsaturated FAs Hybrids
High lauric acid content, low
saturated/unsaturated FA ratio
LCT x GBGD, LCT x COD,
COD x WCT
High saturated FA ADOT, LCT, SSGT
High MCFAs LCT, ADOT, COD x WCT
High myristic acid BENT, WAT, FMST, MYD x WCT,
WCT x GBGD
High lauric acid ADOT, LCT, LCT x COD
Low saturated/unsaturated fatty acids
& high medium chain fatty acids
LCT x GBGD, COD x WCT,
LCT x COD, WCT x COD
Coconut genetic resources – Oil quality

16. Variety Dry
husk
weight
(g)
Dry
fibre
weight
(g)
Long
fibre
weight
(g)
Medium
fibre
weight
(g)
Short
fibre
weight
(g)
Bit
weight
(g)
% of
Long
Fibre
% of
Mediu
m Fibre
% of
Short
Fibre
% of bit
BENT 106 42 18 13 11 64 17 12.26 10.38 60.38
LMT 126 39 16 14 9 87 13 11.11 7.14 69.05
COD 198 42 15 16 11 156 7.6 8.08 5.56 78.79
ADOT 382 52 21 19 12 330 5.5 4.97 3.14 86.39
D X T 150 36 17 7 12 114 11.3 4.67 8.00 76.00
ECT 202 64 18 24 22 138 8.9 11.88 10.89 68.32
LCT 459 133 106 15 12 326 23 3.27 2.61 71.02
T X D 133 33 13 11 9 100 9.8 8.27 6.77 75.19
GBGD 222 62 28 17 17 160 12.6 7.66 7.66 72.07
TPT 308 75 31 21 23 233 10 6.82 7.47 75.65
WCT 300 73 27 23 23 227 9 7.67 7.67 75.67
Long fibre : >20 cm, Medium fibre: 15-20 cm
Short fibre : 5- 15 cm Bit : <5 cm
Evaluation of coconut genetic resources - fibre

18. Trait-specific coconut accessions
Trait Accession
High female flower production Spicata, Laccadive Micro Tall, Ayiramkachi Tall
Large inflorescence Borneo Tall
High copra content (>300 g) San Ramon Tall, Malayan Tall, Markham Tall
Low copra content (<125 g) Surinam Brown Dwarf, CGD, MYD, Laccadive
Micro Tall, Ayiramkachi Tall
High Oil content (>72%) Laccadive Micro Tall
Dwarf - high copra content (>200 g) CRD, NLGD
High copra/oil output (>4 t copra/
ha & >2.5 t oil/ha)
Fiji Longtowan Tall, Adirampatnam Tall, CCNT,
JVT, PHOT
Ball copra production LMT, TPT, WCT, AYKT, JVT, NAVT, SLT, ECT
Good quality tender nut water COD, MOD, PHOT, MGD, GBGD, CCNT
Drought tolerance AGT, WCT, JVT, FMST
Root (wilt) disease resistance CGD, MGD
Leaf spot resistance TPT
Eriophyid mite resistance COD,KGD
Sweet endosperm Mohacho Narel
Pink husk (tender fruits) Guelle Rose Tall, West Coast Pink Tall

19. Coconut genetic resources – Cataloguing
 Coconut descriptors - 74 conserved germplasm
 COGENT World Catalogue of conserved germplasm
 COGENT Catalogue of farmers varieties

20. Coconut genetic resources - Descriptor plates

25. In situ characterization of local coconut
ecotypes
• Bedakam, Kuttiadi, Komadan from Kerala
• Mohacho Narel from Maharastra
• Sakhigopal from Orissa
• Ettamozhi tall from TN
• Copra recovery greater in Bedakam
• Adaptive traits - Annur
• Edava Long fibre coconut – higher recovery of long fibres

26. Cataloguing of farmers varieties

27. South East Asia
and South Pacific
Islands
Talls: 39
Dwarfs: 3
India mainland
Talls: 14
Dwarfs:5
Islands
Andaman Nicobar
Talls: 40
Dwarf: 2
Lakshadweep
Talls: 8
Dwarfs: 1
Africa
Talls:3
Dwarfs:2
Americas
Talls:5
Dwarfs:1
DNA fingerprinting of coconut accessions
 Molecular characterization, with SSR markers,
 138 diverse accessions
 major & minor coconut growing regions of the world
indian Ocean
Talls:12
Dwarfs:2

28. Molecular Diversity – Indigenous talls
Accession/Location Genetic
diversity
Heterozygosity
Index
• Overall Talls
showed high
level of
genetic
diversity.
• Among
indigenous
Talls, LCT
showed
higher level
of diversity

29. Molecular Diversity – Indigenous dwarfs
Accession/Location Genetic
diversity
Heterozygosity
Index
•Overall Dwarfs showed low level of genetic diversity, except for KOD
•Among indigenous dwarfs, CGD found to be highly homozygous

30. Genetic relationship of
coconut accessions
 Two centres of domestication
 primary centre (South
East Asia)
 secondary centre (Indian
Ocean region)
 Database “COCOGEN”
0.1
ADOT
P.Lono
FT
BOR
PHOT
SNRT
KPDT
COC
NG
GUBTI
GUBTII
FMS
SSG
MGD
ZNT
ECT
LMT
MOD
CGD
COD
WCT
BEN
WCT01
AYD
MYD
CART
BGT
HBT
KBT
AYT
NOD
SBTI
CBT
SBTII
CT
GPT
LOT
AYRT
SKGT
BBT
BLGT
JVT
OGT
KMT
TPT
BOT
KLT
DCT
KOT
PGT
NMT
RPT
KGD
TT
CALT
GT
HCT
KNT
NBT

31. • Embryo culture for field collection of germplasm from distant
places
• Plumule culture technique
• Enhancing multiplication rate of hybrids & resistant lines
• Cryopreservation of pollen & embryos for in vitro germplasm
conservation
Applications of biotechnology for
cryopreservation, embryo & plumule culture

32. Utilization of coconut genetic resources
 27 varieties and 19 hybrids released for
cultivation in different agro-climatic zones
of the country

33. Variety Important traits
Chandra Kalpa Drought tolerant, high oil - 72%
Kalpa Mitra High nut, oil yield, Drought tolerant
Kalpa Dhenu High nut, oil yield, Drought tolerant
Kalpatharu Drought tolerant, ball copra, high yield
Pratap High yield
Kamarupa High yield
Aliyarnagar Tall 1 High yield
Kera Bastar High yield
Kera Keralam High yield
Aliyarnagar Tall 2 High yield
VPM-3 High yield, drought tolerant
Improved coconut varieties developed in India
Higher copra yield

34. Variety Important traits
Kera Chandra High yield
Kalpa Pratibha High nut, oil yield, tender nut, Drought tolerant
Kalparaksha High nut, oil yield in RWD prevalent areas
Kalpa Haritha Dual purpose for copra and tender nut
Gautami Ganga Dual purpose for copra and tender nut, Andhra
Pradesh
Kera Madhura Dual purpose for copra and tender nut, Kerala
CARI
Annapooorna
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Kalyani Coconut High yield, West Bengal
Improved coconut varieties developed in India
Dual purpose

35. Variety Important traits
Chowghat Orange Dwarf Dwarf, orange colour fruit
Kalpa Jyothi Dwarf, yellow colour fruit
Kalpa Surya Dwarf, orange colour fruit
Improved coconut varieties developed in India
Tender nut
Variety Important traits
Kalparaksha High nut, oil yield in RWD prevalent areas
Kalpasree Dwarf, superior oil, high yield in RWD areas
Root (wilt) disease tracts
CARI-C2 (Surya) Ornamental purpose, orange colour fruit
CARI-C3 (Omkar) Ornamental purpose, yellow colour fruit
CARI-C4 (Chandan) Ornamental purpose, orange colour fruit
Ornamental

36. Superior coconut hybrids released in India
Hybrid Parentage
Chandra Sankara COD x WCT
Kera Sankara LCT x GBGD
Chandra Laksha LCT x COD
Kalpa Samrudhi MYD x WCT
Kalpa Sankara WCT x CGD
Laksha Ganga LCT x GBGD
Ananda Ganga ADOT x GBGD
Kera Ganga WCT x GBGD
Kera Sree WCT x MYD
Kera Sowbagya WCT x SSAT
VHC-1 ECT x MGD
VHC-2 ECT x MYD
VHC-3 ECT x MOD
Godhavari Ganga ECT x GBGD
#- Yield under rainfed conditions

37. Superior coconut hybrids released in India
Hybrid Parentage
Kalpa Sreshta MYD x TPT
Vasista Ganga GBGD x PHOT
Ananta Ganga GBGD x LCT
Kalpa Ganga GBGD x FJT
Konkan Bhatye coconut hybrid 1 GBGD x ECT
#- Yield under rainfed conditions

38. Issues in the research front
 Extreme drought in Tiptur, Mysore areas of
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu devastated lakhs of palms
 Intensive rain after drought – more incidence of
bud rot disease
 Climate resilient agriculture
Climate change impacting coconut production
Coconut simulation model derived relative
deviations in nut yields due to climate
change in B2a scenario of HadCM3 model

39. Root (wilt) disease in coconut
• Development of molecular markers for
resistance
• No method for multiplication of resistant
material
Issues

40. Issues in the research front
 Genomes of other palms viz. date palm, oil
palm sequenced
 No progress in sequencing of coconut genome
 International thematic groups formed under
COGENT
 No collaborative action plans
 Reports on sequencing coconut genome from
China, but not available in public domain
Coconut genomics

41. Issues in the research front
 Lack of viable tissue culture protocol for mass
multiplication of elite and resistant material
Coconut tissue culture

42. Future Thrust
• Identification of more trait specific accessions/genes/alleles for
desirable traits and development of donor lines
• Development of varieties suitable for different end uses and
specific industrial use
• Development of superior genetic stocks, having greater
homogeneity with the application of plumule culture
technology
• Farmer participatory on-farm conservation

43. Thank You