PCA picks coconut varieties that pass int’l “buko” standards

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna–The Philippine Coconut Authority identified two outstanding coconut dwarf varieties that meet international standards for “buko” production. These varieties are Galas Green and Tacunan Green dwarfs.

In a report to the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development, the two varieties passed the “buko” standards set by C&A Products Co., Ltd., Thailand in terms of circumference, meat weight, water content, meat thickness and firmness, and total soluble solids.

Galas Green Dwarf nuts are uniform, mostly medium with thick husk, spherical and well-balanced crown, nearly stout stem with conspicuously tapering base, slow upward growth, and with either green or yellow peduncle.

GALD’s immature fruits are deep green, while newly opened inflorescence bear yellow flowers. Its fronds are rather short but have more and long leaflets. It has a fairly small bunch, with medium-sized nuts that tend to crowd one another in a tight cluster. It bears normal inflorescence and exhibits good self-fertilization. The round fruit exhibits a flat-shaped nut inside.

Easily passing international standards, GALD nuts about 1.9 pounds each, have an average circumference of 46 centimeters and 137 grams of meat that is 5.2 millimeters thick. It holds an average of 318-milliliter water with 7.30 total soluble solid and 5.9 pH.

GALD produces about 70 nuts yearly with potential to produce as much as 177 nuts for the same period.

Meanwhile, the Tacunan Green Dwarf locally known to local villagers as “Bilaka” or “Linkuranay,” which means “to sit before,” fits the short, early bearing trait of this variety. One needs to bend to harvest its nuts in the early stages of its growth and development.

Unlike most dwarf varieties, TACD has medium to large nut with short and wide peduncle bearing short spikelets. It has thick and stubby spathe hollow in the tip and medium-sized nuts, which exhibit cracks in the stigmatic end. Its fronds are borne on a spherical crown with wide leaflets.

TACD bears early and the first bunches of nuts touch the ground during the early bearing years, which could be less than two years in highly suitable conditions.

Tacunan palms can survive in typhoon or cyclone-prone areas due to their robustness, thick stem, and well-anchored root system. This variety can produce an average of 94 nuts yearly or as much as 204 nuts within the same period. Each nut provides over 250 grams of copra.

Like GALD, coconuts from this variety passed international standards for young tender coconut. TACD nuts have an average circumference of 56 centimeters and 159 grams of meat (5.1 millimeters thick and 2.2 pounds firm). It has 478-milliliter water on average with 6.30 percent soluble solid and 6.6 pH. It has a medium chain fatty acid (C6-12) content of 71 percent with 53 percent C12.

GGD plantation site is in Galas, Dipolog City. It is conserved at the PCA Zamboanga Research Center in San Ramon, Zamboanga City and at the Coconut Breeding Trials Unit-Panay State Polytechnic College, Mambusao, Capiz.

The Tacunan Green Dwarf plantation is in Rabanuel’s Farm, Tacunan, Davao City. The variety is presently conserved at PCA Albay, Davao, and Zamboanga Research Centers, and CBTU- PSPC.

Source: By NOEL A. CATIBOG, MediaCore, PCARRD