COGENT Coconut news and events
16th COGENT Steering Committee, 8-10 July, Kochi, Kerala, India
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- Category: News
- Created on 30 April 2012
The 16th Steering Committee Meeting of the International Coconut Genetic Resources Network (COGENT) will be held, at Kochi, Kerala, India, from 8th to 10th July 2012. Our meeting will take place just after the COCOTECH meeting of the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (please visit: http://www.apccsec.org/cocotech.htm). Piggy-backing the two meetings in the same location will generate an economy of both time and financial resources. It will be also more environmentally friendly, because the number of international flights will be reduced.
The objectives of the COGENT SC meeting are:
- To revise the Global Coconut Conservation Strategy, an essential tool for the future of Coconut Genetic Resources.
- To provide a balanced review of the research activities of the COGENT country members in the field of Coconut Genetic Resources and Breeding.
- To interact with other countries in order to develop new international research projects
- To review the optimization, validation and application of the recently refined coconut embryo culture protocol for wide application under a variety of genotypes and conditions.
- To review the organization of the COGENT network and especially the role and composition of its Steering Committee.
The International Coconut Genetic Resources Network (COGENT) now includes 39 member countries. The need to update the current Global Coconut Genetic Resources Conservation Strategy was highlighted in 2009 during a COGENT meeting held in Korea. One of the main limiting factors of this updating process was identified as "making decisions with incomplete or obsolete information". Over the last decade, not enough information has been shared between COGENT members.
The participants to the COGENT Steering Committee will be around 30-40 researchers. They will be 10 country representatives of the COGENT Steering Committee, some other researchers from other COGENT countries, some international experts and members of donor agencies, APCC and the COGENT Secretariat.
Dates and venue
8-10 July 2012, Kochi (Cochin), India, very probably at the The Woods Manor Hotel, Woodland's Jn, M.G Road, Ernakulam, Cochin-682011,Kerala,India.
A warm welcome to the Sultanate of Oman as a new COGENT country member
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- Category: News
- Created on 28 March 2012
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| Irrigation Plantation (Image: R.Bourdeix) |
The International Coconut Genetic Resources Network (COGENT) is pleased to announce the cooptation of a new country member. The Sultanate of Oman is a Middle Eastern country and has a wonderfully contrasting landscape; from mountains to sea, from to desert to greenery. The Dhofar plain located in the corner of Oman’s southwest comprises fertile lands and makes the country suitable for growing coconut trees and other tropical fruits.
In Oman, coconut has a centuries-long history linked with the socio-economic concerns of communities resident in the Dhofar governorate, therefore there are several agricultural authorities dealing with coconut development services in Oman. Indeed (Cocos nucifera) is an economically important crop in the Sultanate of Oman. This country contains about 200,000 coconut palms and around 91% of these are located on the Dhofar plain. Between 1983 and 1988 several new coconut varieties were imported from Sri Lanka and Malaysia via the ministry of agriculture and fisheries.
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| Salalah Agricultural Research Station (SARS) (Image: R.Bourdeix) |
The Salalah agricultural research station (SARS) relies on the support of the ministry of agriculture and fisheries, and is dedicated to plant production and protection. Oman’s current main trial is linked to the integrated management project on coconut mite (Aceria guerreronis).This program includes a research protocol for the conservation and enrichment of the coconut germplasm in Dhofar. It consists of identifying local coconut varieties, introducing new coconut varieties and screening for resistance of coconut varieties to the coconut mite. The Omani strategy for conserving traditional tall varieties involves avoiding contamination by imported varieties, providing good quality coconut seed nuts for Omani farmers and enriching germplasm, leading to breeding new varieties.
Validation of a coconut embryo culture protocol for the International Exchange of Germplasm, Lunuwila, 13-17 February 2012
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- Category: News
- Created on 09 February 2012
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Coconut green shoots |
The coconut palm is an integral part of the culture in many countries and over a range of agro-ecologies. Coconut supports more than 10 million sustainable livelihoods worldwide, and associated coconut-growing communities face several challenges from genetic erosion, climate-change and coconut diseases.In recent years, these economic threats have prompted shifts in coconut farming-systems, and hence the rich and bio-diverse coconut heritage in many countries is under threat.
