PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 4:55 PM by Luigi

Vanuatu coconut to fight disease in Ghana

From Port Vila Presse Online.

By GNAPosted Tuesday, August 9, 2005

Ghana: About 11,000 hectares of coconut farms have been devastated by the Cape St. Paul Wilt disease, bringing economic hardships to about 10,000 households, mainly in coastal communities. The disease, which was first discovered in Ghana in 1932, had defied all attempts at control.

The Oil Palm Research Institute (OPRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) at Kusi in the Eastern Region had, in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), identified a tolerant coconut variety that had led to the launching of a rehabilitation project for the coconut industry.

A spokesman for the OPRI at Kusi in the Kwaebibrim District praised the French government for funding research and development effort towards solving the problems of the coconut industry. He said the French government recently made available an amount of 1,290,000 Euros to support agronomical research including the coconut sector.

''With the development of the disease-tolerant coconut hybrids, the industry is being given a new lease of life.'' Farms are being replanted at the rate of 400 hectares a year with the new variety the Coconut Sector Development Programme is supplying. It is projected that by 2007, at least 1,000 hectares a year of the disease-devastated farms would have been replanted. In addition, the spokesman said, the OPRI has been giving technical support to the Coconut Sector Development Project to rehabilitate the coconut industry.

The OPRI has devised a modified controlled pollination system for the production of Vanuatu, a tall seed-nut that is a key variety in the development of the tolerant type for planting. It has set up a pollinator garden to produce the coconut pollen requirements of the country with effect from 2006 to save the over 40,000 dollars per year in pollen imports.



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Box 14 Nuku'alofa Tonga Tel: (676) 23038 Fax: (676) 24271 Email: thaangana@hotmail.com Mr Frazer Bule Lehi Head of Research Department of Agriculture & Rural Development Private Mail Bag 040 Port Vila Vanuatu Tel: (678) 22525 Fax: (678) 25265 Email: flehi@hotmail.com Other links Other CROP agencies Forum Secretariat University of the South Pacific SPREP Pacific biodiversity Biodiversity hotspots Breadfruit Institute Hawaiian native plants Intellectual property rights Nature Conservancy PBIF PestNet SIDS WWF South Pacific Program Other Pacific organizations Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific Micronesian Seminar Te Puna web directory Pacific news Cafe Pacific CocoNET Wireless Island Directory Pacific Islands News Pacific Islands Report Pacific Islands Travel Pacific Time South Pacific travel Time Pacific Interested in GIS? DIVA-GIS	Saturday, November 05, 2005 Posted 4:55 PM by Luigi Vanuatu coconut to fight disease in Ghana From Port Vila Presse Online. By GNAPosted Tuesday, August 9, 2005 Ghana: About 11,000 hectares of coconut farms have been devastated by the Cape St. Paul Wilt disease, bringing economic hardships to about 10,000 households, mainly in coastal communities. The disease, which was first discovered in Ghana in 1932, had defied all attempts at control. The Oil Palm Research Institute (OPRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) at Kusi in the Eastern Region had, in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), identified a tolerant coconut variety that had led to the launching of a rehabilitation project for the coconut industry. A spokesman for the OPRI at Kusi in the Kwaebibrim District praised the French government for funding research and development effort towards solving the problems of the coconut industry. He said the French government recently made available an amount of 1,290,000 Euros to support agronomical research including the coconut sector. ''With the development of the disease-tolerant coconut hybrids, the industry is being given a new lease of life.'' Farms are being replanted at the rate of 400 hectares a year with the new variety the Coconut Sector Development Programme is supplying. It is projected that by 2007, at least 1,000 hectares a year of the disease-devastated farms would have been replanted. In addition, the spokesman said, the OPRI has been giving technical support to the Coconut Sector Development Project to rehabilitate the coconut industry. The OPRI has devised a modified controlled pollination system for the production of Vanuatu, a tall seed-nut that is a key variety in the development of the tolerant type for planting. It has set up a pollinator garden to produce the coconut pollen requirements of the country with effect from 2006 to save the over 40,000 dollars per year in pollen imports. * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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