PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 7:17 PM by Tevita

Fiji Dwarf Coconut is One Tough Nut

From : USDA

By Alfredo Flores
May 29, 2008
A coconut improvement program involving Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Miami, Fla., has focused on the very durable "Fiji Dwarf" variety to combat a shortage of coconut germplasm in the Florida landscape trade. Valued for their fruit and processing by-products, these trees are also in high demand as a signature landscape element.

But in the 1970s, the lethal yellowing (LY) phytoplasma began attacking the South Florida coconut canopy and had destroyed about 100,000 coconut palms by 1983. As a result, Florida's Division of Forestry initiated a coconut-breeding program at the ARS Subtropical Horticulture Research Station (SHRS) in Miami.

There, strategies for managing LY focused on replacing tall, disease-susceptible varieties with resistant, dwarf types. Although state funding for the LY breeding and disease-management program ended in the 1980s, the SHRS coconut germplasm collection was maintained and eventually incorporated into the National Plant Germplasm System.

ARS research geneticist Alan Meerow began to review the SHRS coconut germplasm after joining the staff in 1999. Fiji Dwarf (also known as Niu Leka) emerged as the prized jewel among varieties because of its heavy, dense crown of short, dark leaves—features especially sought by ornamental growers, landscapers and gardeners. Although it has variable LY resistance in Florida, it is free of nutritional deficiencies that plague most other coconut varieties grown on Florida's relatively infertile soils.

Since 2001, the SHRS researchers have been using molecular tools to investigate the genetics of Fiji Dwarf and other varieties. Meerow and horticulturalist Tomas Ayala-Silva want to know if it's possible to distinguish an LY-resistant Fiji Dwarf genotype.

So far, data show that Fiji Dwarf has the second-highest genetic diversity among coconut varieties, after the tall varieties such as the "Panama Tall," and the largest number of unique variations, or alleles, of any cultivar group within the study. In the past six years, not a single Fiji Dwarf has died of LY at the SHRS. ARS scientists suspect that the surviving Fiji Dwarf palms at their location may be resistant to LY. Meerow and Silva continue to work on this variety with the tropical landscape horticulture industry in mind.

Read more about the research in the May/June 2008 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.



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DIVA-GIS	Sunday, June 01, 2008 Posted 7:17 PM by Tevita Fiji Dwarf Coconut is One Tough Nut From : USDA By Alfredo Flores May 29, 2008 A coconut improvement program involving Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Miami, Fla., has focused on the very durable "Fiji Dwarf" variety to combat a shortage of coconut germplasm in the Florida landscape trade. Valued for their fruit and processing by-products, these trees are also in high demand as a signature landscape element. But in the 1970s, the lethal yellowing (LY) phytoplasma began attacking the South Florida coconut canopy and had destroyed about 100,000 coconut palms by 1983. As a result, Florida's Division of Forestry initiated a coconut-breeding program at the ARS Subtropical Horticulture Research Station (SHRS) in Miami. There, strategies for managing LY focused on replacing tall, disease-susceptible varieties with resistant, dwarf types. Although state funding for the LY breeding and disease-management program ended in the 1980s, the SHRS coconut germplasm collection was maintained and eventually incorporated into the National Plant Germplasm System. ARS research geneticist Alan Meerow began to review the SHRS coconut germplasm after joining the staff in 1999. Fiji Dwarf (also known as Niu Leka) emerged as the prized jewel among varieties because of its heavy, dense crown of short, dark leaves—features especially sought by ornamental growers, landscapers and gardeners. Although it has variable LY resistance in Florida, it is free of nutritional deficiencies that plague most other coconut varieties grown on Florida's relatively infertile soils. Since 2001, the SHRS researchers have been using molecular tools to investigate the genetics of Fiji Dwarf and other varieties. Meerow and horticulturalist Tomas Ayala-Silva want to know if it's possible to distinguish an LY-resistant Fiji Dwarf genotype. So far, data show that Fiji Dwarf has the second-highest genetic diversity among coconut varieties, after the tall varieties such as the "Panama Tall," and the largest number of unique variations, or alleles, of any cultivar group within the study. In the past six years, not a single Fiji Dwarf has died of LY at the SHRS. ARS scientists suspect that the surviving Fiji Dwarf palms at their location may be resistant to LY. Meerow and Silva continue to work on this variety with the tropical landscape horticulture industry in mind. Read more about the research in the May/June 2008 issue of Agricultural Research magazine. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency. * 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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