Resistance screening trials on coconut varieties to Cape Saint Paul Wilt Disease in Ghana

¹ CSIR- OPRI Coconut Programme, P.O. Box 245, Sekondi, Ghana
² CIRAD-Campus Int. de Bailarguet, TA80/A, 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France
³ CSDP, Min of Food & Agric, P.O. Box 245, Sekondi, Ghana

^* rnquaicoe@yahoo.com

Abstract

The Cape Saint Paul Wilt Disease (CSPWD) is a coconut lethal yellowing type disease (LY) and is the single most serious threat to coconut cultivation in Ghana. The recommended disease management strategy is the cultivation of disease-resistant coconut varieties. More than 38 varieties have been screened for their resistance to CSPWD since 1956 and the results are reviewed in this paper. Two varieties, Sri Lanka Green Dwarf (SGD) and Vanuatu Tall (VTT), have shown high resistance to the disease, and their hybrid (SGD × VTT) is under observation to determine its performance. A programme to rehabilitate the CSPWD-devastated areas was started in 1999. Emerging results indicate that the MYD × VTT hybrid being used for the programme, succumbs to the disease under intense disease pressure. A redirection of the rehabilitation programme and the screening of more varieties are recommended.