IICA facilitates visit of tissue culture expert from Mexico
IICA facilitates visit of tissue culture expert from Mexico
Georgetown, Guyana, October 18 – 24, 2016. The IICA Delegation in Guyana facilitated the visit of Dr. Carlos M. Oropeza Salin, Director of the Biotechnology Unit of the Yucatan Centre for Scientific Research (CICY) in Mexico. This visit comes under a bilateral agreement between the Governments of Guyana and Mexico, apart from mastering the skills of biotechnology related to tissue culture Dr. Oropeza Salin is also an expert in the ‘Lethal Yellowing’ of Coconut Palms. He has great success in the cloning of coconuts palms utilizing embryonic cells and material from coconut inflorescences to generate plantlets.
Dr. Oropeza’s visit coincided with the activities relating to the recently held Coconut Festival held in Guyana at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre in Georgetown Guyana, where he was given the opportunity to deliver a biotechnological presentation on the in-vitro culture for the generation of coconut bio mass. Further, his presentation also dealt with plant pathogen relationships in relation to research on the vector of lethal yellowing. Apart from his engagement with the coconut festival, IICA through its collaboration with the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) arranged for a visit to the Bio Technology laboratory at NAREI where Dr. Oropeza viewed the tissue culture process and had discussions with the Senior Research Scientist.
Since there is a present demand for clean planting material the option of tissue culture to produce large numbers of coconut plants is needed. Dr. Orepeza indicated that large numbers of plantlets can be shipped to Guyana once the protocols for the phyto-sanitary are in place. NAREI stands to benefit from a capacity building process which will improve the technology of bio-mass production particularly in the in vitro multiplication process associated with coconuts. With the resurgence of the demand for coconut its multiple value-added products and by-products and coconut products, the proposed rehabilitation of numerous coconut estates there will be a dire need for planting material.
IICA also arranged for Dr. Oropeza Salin to visit a number of coconut estates in Regions 4 and 5 and the Pomeroon River. There he was able to view estates at various maintenance levels ranging from abandonment to good management. While on this field visit the Coconut specialist was joined by the Executive Director of the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community, Mr. Uron Salum.
More information: arnold.demendonca@iica.int
