Coconut Palms from Papua New Guinea

This website was developed within the ACIAR-supported project HORT/2017/025 – Safeguarding and Deploying Coconut Diversity in the Pacific. Implemented from 2018 to 2025 across the Pacific Islands and northern Australia, this project aims to reinvigorate coconut-based livelihoods by reinforcing the conservation and sustainable use of coconut genetic resources, while mitigating major biotic threats to regional coconut diversity. Key components include the collection and conservation of germplasm, development of embryo rescue and cryopreservation protocols, implementation of genotyping initiatives, and production of training materials and standardized procedures for embryo culture and plantlet acclimatization. The project also supports an appraisal of the five International Coconut Genebanks to ensure their long-term viability and strategic relevance.

Coconut varieties in Papua New Guinea

First recorded introductions of coconut varieties in Papua New Guinea. Ms Emma Eliza Coe (1850-1913), also known as "Queen Emma of New Guinea", was a business woman and plantation owner of mixed American/Samoan descent. She brought Samoan coconut varieties to Kokopo (East New Britain Province) in the late eighteen century made the first recorded coconut introductions. Subsequently nuts were brought in from many sources including the New Hebrides (Vanuatu), New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Java. Later, more coconut varieties were also brought in from Asian and Pacific areas...

Spicata Red Dwarf,, a coconut variety originating from PNG

Variety, Cultivar, Population and Accession, what doest it mean?
How an international name is given to a new coconut variety ?
Dwarf Varieties
Tall-type varieties
Spicata variants
The first contest in PNG on coconut production and varieties launched in 2019!

List of coconut R&D projects in PNG

Coconut genebanks in Papua New Guinea

The first Coconut Genebanks at Rigo, Kapogere and Gobaragere
The second Coconut Genebank: LAES in Kerevat
The Stewart Research Station (SRS) and International coconut collection

Creating a new coconut genebank (the fourth)

Number and size of accessions actually conserved in SRS
What should remain from a disappearing genebank?
Status of the MOA/ ICG agreement
Number of accessions to be conserved
Number of countries which actually requested germplasm
Number of countries provided with requested germplasm
Disease threats

Suggestion for new experiments: ; lying (not under but..) the coconut palms!

Coconut Seed production system in Papua New Guinea

The last preface from our late master and friend M. Uron Neil Salum

The Omuru Seed Garden and hybrid seednuts production
Production of Tall-type seednuts
Production of Dwarf seednuts
Training farmers on reproductive biology of the coconut palm: a crucial initiative!
How farmers can produce good hybrid seednuts by themselves

Methodology for coconut conservation and breeding

Two "golden rules" for coconut collection and breeding programmes
Number of trees per accession and representativeness
How to download and extract data from the Coconut Genetic Resources Database
Collecting for additional conservation
Characterization data available in the CGRD database and other supports
Yield evaluation
Disease resistance Trial
Tissue culture

Palm by Palm data conserved in the coconut Data management Software

Conservation of other tree crops in Papua New Guinea

The objective of this section is to explore how coconut conservation could be linked to conservation of other perenial crop or plant species. Agriculture in Papua New Guinea has a more than 7,000 years old history. Currently around 85% of Papua New Guinea's population lives from semi-subsistence agriculture. Cash crops ranked by value are coffee, oil, cocoa, copra, tea, rubber, and sugar. About 40% of the country is covered with timber rich trees.

List of thirty agricultural facilities in PNG

Short review of ex situ conservation in PNG

All Palm species
Cocoa
Coffee
Medicinal trees

Rubber

Palm Oil

Tea
Sugar cane
Other tree crops
Botanical gardens
Role of NGOs in conservation of trees and tree crops

Coconut Breeding in Papua New Guinea

Breeding experiments conducted at the Stewart Research Centre
Agronomic and farming systems research conducted at the Stewart Research Centre
Experiments previously conducted in Papua New Guinea

Main references about coconut in Papua New Guinea

Agronomy
Archeological and ethnological
Breeding and conservation
Pest and diseases
Other topics

The 2019 appraisal of the International Coconut Genebank for the South Pacific region

An appraisal for the South Pacific International Coconut Genebank (ICG-SP) in Papua New Guinea (PNG) was conducted in 2019 (field visits) and 2020 (reporting). The assessment focused on coconut conservation issues and related activities, including breeding, characterization, collecting, conservation, database management, germplasm exchange, genebank design and maintenance, cost estimation and funding sources for ICG establishment, land ownership arrangements, income-generation strategies, and seednut and seedling production. The report delivered 52 prioritized recommendations outlining the key actions required to ensure that the newly established ICG-SP can operate effectively. A summary of the report was published on the ICC/COGENT website.

Terms of reference
Members of the 2019 ICG evaluation teams

Surprising coconut stories from Papua New Guinea

What is the equivalent of the Tahitian "Heiva" in PNG?
August Engelhardt, leader of a Coconut-Obsessed Cult
ToKanao- The First Coconut in PNG

By Olga Skomorokhova - August Engelhardt believed coconuts were divine.

This website is under the Creative commons licence CC BY-ND 4.0, meaning you are free to duplicate all the available information as long as its source is appropriately cited (R. Bourdeix & al, 2019. Coconut palms from Papua New Guinea. https://pngcoconut.blogspot.com)

1000 stories about the coconut tree, choose randomly!

During the 35 years that I spent to work on the coconut tree, I produced approximately 1000 scientific papers or films. They are gathered in this drawing! Click randomly on it to see one or more. I ask for your indulgence, some papers are not finished yet (many in French), but I'm working on it!