Читать книгу Biotechnology of Fruit and Nut Crops - Группа авторов - Страница 103

The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) is cultivated on 12 million ha of tropical coastal lowlands, being one of the world’s most valuable palms, contributing directly to the income and livelihood of millions of farmers and their dependents (FAOSTAT, 2013). Widely known as the ‘tree of life’, the kernel of the fruit is converted into edible products having high nutritional and therapeutic value (Foale, 2003; Perera et al., 2009a; Dayrit and Dayrit, 2013) being rich in edible fibre, protein, lipid and inorganic minerals (Lim, 2012). Commercially, refined products, including virgin oil, shell charcoal, husk fibre and cortex are manufactured regionally and exported. Virgin coconut oil, which has emerged recently as a high-quality edible product compared to traditional copra-derived oil, is extracted at low temperature. It possesses powerful antioxidant and antibacterial properties (Chakraborty and Mitra, 2008; Marina et al., 2009), and possibly antitumor potential (Koschek et al., 2007). Components found in several coconut products have been implicated in the prevention and treatment of a wide range of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, ulcers and other gut ailments as well as hormonal imbalance in postmenopausal women (Ross, 2005; Lim, 2012). Coconut sugar is produced from the sap of cut inflorescence buds and coconut wood, cut from the old portion of the trunk, is used as a robust timber component for building construction, furniture and handicrafts. In this chapter, we will discuss different aspects of coconut biology ranging from fundamental botany, through conventional breeding to tissue culture and biotechnological interventions (as summarized in Fig. 4.1.1).

Fig. 4.1.1. An overview of coconut tissue culture and biotechnology.