Coconut Biodiversity – Nature’s Gift to the Tropical Islands

Abstract Coconut is a very important well-adapted crop of the tropics, which has proved to be the backbone of tropical islands’ economy. The accession from tropical islands exhibits wide diversity in its morphological, biochemical and genetic constitution. There are certain special characters that make coconut an ideal crop of the tropics. These characters have helped to improve the productivity of palm and bring desirable traits into cultivars through conventional breeding approaches and application of modern biotechnological tools. Consequently, coconut is involved in the diversification of activities and enhancing the income of people from tropical islands. However, coconut landraces are now severely under threat from the globalisation of trade, cultural levelling, changes in agriculture and climate change. Drought stress affects coconut production in almost all countries where it is grown, because it is mainly a rainfed plantation crop. Through the International Coconut Genetic Resources Network, numerous countries and institutions are collaborating to conserve coconut germplasm and to make coconut a more profitable crop for smallholders. Coconut biodiversity combined with modern technological support has the potential to address many of the emerging issues and provide livelihood to the tropical islanders.