Coconut revival: new possibilities for the ‘tree of life’ Proceedings of the International Coconut Forum held in Cairns, Australia, 22–24 November 2005 Editors: S.W. Adkins, M. Foale and Y.M.S. Samosir Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Canberra 2006 The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) was established in June 1982 by an Act of the Australian Parliament. Its mandate is to help identify agricultural problems in developing countries and to commission collaborative research between Australian and developing country researchers in fields where Australia has a specific research competence. Where trade names are used this constitutes neither endorsement of nor discrimination against any product by the Centre. Material presented in this document is the responsibility of the authors. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the editors. Members of the program committee were Dr Yohannes Samosir (University of Queensland) (Chair), Mr Mike Foale (CSIRO), Mr Sisunandar (University of Queensland), Dr Steve Adkins (University of Queensland) and Ms Cherri Buffett. The administrative support of Mrs Christine Brown, Mrs Jane Gilpin, Mrs Melissa Anderson and Mrs Dianne Waters is gratefully acknowledged. The papers in these proceedings were peer reviewed for their scientific content and merit, and the reviewers are thanked for their constructive comments. ACIAR PROCEEDINGS SERIES This series of publications includes the full proceedings of research workshops or symposia organised or supported by ACIAR. Numbers in this series are distributed internationally to selected individuals and scientific institutions. © Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, GPO Box 1571, Canberra, ACT 2601 Adkins, S.W., Foale, M. and Samosir, Y.M.S. (eds) 2006. Coconut revival—new possibilities for the ‘tree of life’. Proceedings of the International Coconut Forum held in Cairns, Australia, 22–24 November 2005. ACIAR Proceedings No. 125, 103 pp. ISBN 1 86320 514 4 (print) ISBN 1 86320 515 2 (online) Technical editing: Jo Mason, Mason Edit, Adelaide, Australia Typesetting and layout: Clarus Design Pty Ltd, Canberra Printing: PIRION Pty Ltd From: Adkins, S.W., Foale, M. and Samosir, Y.M.S. (eds) 2006. Coconut revival—new possibilities for the ‘tree of life’. Proceedings of the International Coconut Forum held in Cairns, Australia, 22–24 November 2005. ACIAR Proceedings No. 125. Foreword Coconut (Cocos nucifera) is one the most important crops grown in the humid tropics. More than 11 million farmers, mostly smallholders with low income, grow the palm in 90 countries. More than 80% of the total world production comes from the Asia– Pacific countries, which are near neighbours of Australia. Coconut also grows well in moist tropical regions of Australia, particularly northern Queensland. Plantations have been established in the past but the palm is now mostly used for ornamental purposes. Coconut is still used as the symbol of the Australian tropics to attract tourists from around the world to come on holiday in these regions. Through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Australia actively supports and is involved in coconut research and development (R&D), in collaboration with its neighbouring coconut producing countries. Some business-related work has also occurred on coconut tree maintenance, processing and trading. Such a broad range of interests puts Australia in a unique position to make an important contribution to the future of coconut in the Asia–Pacific region. The idea of holding an International Coconut Forum in Australia evolved from extensive discussions with a number of coconut specialists, businesses and agencies. This forum, which was co-sponsored by ACIAR, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the University of Queensland (UQ), African Pacific Pty Ltd, Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC), Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Coconet Pty Ltd and Kokonut Pacific Pty Ltd, was the first of its kind to be held in Australia. Appreciation is expressed to Mr Luke Bice (Sunrise Coconuts) and Mr Paul Richardson (Cocotap) for their help in organising the event; and to Councillor Kevin Byrne, Mayor of the City of Cairns, for his address and the opening of the forum. These proceedings not only document the majority of the papers and posters presented at the forum, but also present several papers by authors who, for various reasons, could not attend the meeting. The topics covered in the forum were diverse, reflecting the vast range of interests and expertise of the participants, and included R&D, business and government, and regional and international agency interests. Peter Core Director Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research 3 From: Adkins, S.W., Foale, M. and Samosir, Y.M.S. (eds) 2006. Coconut revival—new possibilities for the ‘tree of life’. Proceedings of the International Coconut Forum held in Cairns, Australia, 22–24 November 2005. ACIAR Proceedings No. 125. Contents Foreword 3 Summary 7 The International Coconut Genetic Resources Network (COGENT): its history, achievements and future plans Pons Batugal 10 Asian and Pacific Coconut Community activities, achievements and future outlook Poniah Rethinam 15 Past, present and future coconut research in Indonesia Hengky Novarianto and J. Warokka 22 The coconut in the Pacific: the role of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community Luigi Guarino 28 Strategic issues and research and development priorities in sustaining the Vanuatu coconut industry Duncan Burnett and Dorosday Kenneth 31 Australian involvement in coconut research and development Yohannes M.S. Samosir, Mike Foale and Steve W. Adkins 36 Revealing the potential of elite coconut types through tissue culture Yohannes M.S. Samosir, Erlinda P. Rillo, Nurhaini Mashud, Vu Thi My Lien, Alfred Kembu, Mathias Faure, Pablito Magdalita, Olivia Damasco, Hengky Novarianto and Steve W. Adkins 43 Coconut oil and health Bruce Fife 49 Bringing hope to remote island communities with virgin coconut oil production Dan Etherington 57 Value-added coconut co-products Tim J. Kempton 65 Potential for profitable coconut production in northern Queensland Mike Foale and Peter Roebeling 67 Urban coconut management by Townsville City Council Julie Roach 72 5 From: Adkins, S.W., Foale, M. and Samosir, Y.M.S. (eds) 2006. Coconut revival—new possibilities for the ‘tree of life’. Proceedings of the International Coconut Forum held in Cairns, Australia, 22–24 November 2005. ACIAR Proceedings No. 125. A regional outlook on the potential of the coconut market with special reference to sustainable socioeconomic empowerment of island communities in the South Pacific Andreas Lombardozzi 74 Coconut World: an opportunity for northern Queensland Yohannes M.S. Samosir, Mike Foale and Steve W. Adkins 80 Unpresented papers FAO activities on coconut conducted by FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand Keith R. Chapman, Wilco J.M.M. Liebregts and Tran Tan Viet 87 Coconut oil as a biofuel in Pacific Islands—challenges and opportunities Jan Cloin 91 Posters Assimilate storage in vegetative organs of coconut (Cocos nucifera) I. Mialet-Serra, A. Clement, N. Sonderegger, O. Roupsard, A. Flori, C. Jourdan, J.-P. Labouisse and M. Dingkuhn 99 Coconut pests in South Asia – South Pacific and pest risk analysis Laurence Ollivier 100 Rapid diagnosis of coconut fruit quality and sustainable small-scale processing Alexia Prades, Fabrice Davriux, Isabelle Mialet-Serra, Rebecca Rachel Assa and André Rouziere 101 Cryopreservation of coconut embryos using desiccation procedures Sisunandar, Yohannes M.S. Samosir and Steve W. Adkins 102 Development of a high-fibre white bread using Direct Micro Expeller coconut cake Yun Yun Xu, Bruce D’Arcy, Nola Caffin and Bhesh Bhandari 103 6 From: Adkins, S.W., Foale, M. and Samosir, Y.M.S. (eds) 2006. Coconut revival—new possibilities for the ‘tree of life’. Proceedings of the International Coconut Forum held in Cairns, Australia, 22–24 November 2005. ACIAR Proceedings No. 125. Summary The International Coconut Forum was planned with more than 20 years, helping to understand some several objectives in mind: major diseases of the plant, particularly foliar decay • to highlight Australia's support for coconut R&D in Vanuatu and cadang-cadang in the Philippines. in the Asia–Pacific region over 20 years Australia has also assisted in the recognition and col- • to discuss past, current and future international lection of coconut varieties in order to conduct support for coconut R&D breeding for improvement in yield and resistance to • to identify strategic issues in the development of natural threats. More recently, ACIAR renewed its coconut industries of the region, especially those support for coconut tissue culture research. The latest relating to new products and markets project involved Australia (UQ), Vietnam, the Phil- • to discuss the potential benefits to Australia of ippines, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Contin- increased interest in coconut as a health food, and uing support from ACIAR and other donors was possible collateral benefits to producers elsewhere solicited at the forum to further help in addressing the through increased product recognition and status. strategic issues identified by the delegates. The forum was supported by the University of Achievements and challenges in coconut R&D, Queensland (UQ) with major and minor sponsor- processing, marketing and