Anitha KarunSajini, K.K.Radha, E.Parthasarathy, V.A.2014-06-122014-06-122004-12Journal of Plantation Crops 32(Suppl.) December 2004: 139-143http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2847The CPCRI protocol of coconut zygotic embryo culture was utilized for five germplasm expeditions during the period 1997- 2001. A total of 4182 embryos of 45 accessions were collected from 8 countries viz., Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, Maldives, Comoros, Reunion, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The per cent retrieval of embryos varied among the location and among accessions. A major cause of differential germination was the contamination of cultures, which could be partially attributed to the personal skill and the conditions of the site at the time of collection. Treatment of cultures with tetracycline (2 ppm) be effective in treatments of cultures with mild bacterial contamination. The per cent germination varied between 54 (Sri Lanka) to 82.2 % (Bangladesh) between expeditions. In earlier expeditions when seed nuts were brought, the germination ranged from 2.0 - 87.0%. The observation on in vitro retrieval of embryos and their ex vitro establishment suggest that, about 300 to 400 embryos/accessions needed to be collected for field establishment of 100 plants in a gene bank.enCoconutCocos nucifera L.Coconut germplasmembryo culturefield collectionIn vitro retrievalICG-SA KiduEx vitro and field establishmentArticle