Catalogue of Conserved Coconut Germplasm

The idea of making an illustrated coconut germplasm catalogue as a printed book was first presented by R. Bourdeix in 1993 to the COGENT Steering Committee meeting held in Montpellier, France. Since 2000, the COGENT network, Bioversity and CIRAD have been collaborating to develop and publish this catalogue of coconut germplasm. The Catalogue provides a wealth of information, both as text and illustrations. The descriptive material will help users to identify varieties they already hold, while the information on evaluation and uses will help them to select new materials to suit various purposes, whether as promising parents for breeding programmes or for immediate use at the farm and community level. Both scientific evaluations relating to variables such as pest and disease responses and yield are provided, as well as information on more traditional uses and cultural aspects. The catalogue presents comprehensive and sound scientific content aiming at increasing awareness of the coconut and its diversity. The information in the catalogue has been presented in a popular manner so that it is attractive and understandable enough to the general public, while retaining its technical rigour to be appreciated by scientists, researchers and students.