ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Fighting climate change: Philippine coconut industry to adapt heat, drought tolerant varieties

Fighting climate change: Philippine coconut industry to adapt heat, drought tolerant varieties

Published Apr 13, 2024 09:16 am

At A Glance

  • Researchers are working to develop heat and drought-tolerant coconut varieties to adapt to changing climate conditions.

Philippine coconut production is currently threatened by the rising dry spells and droughts that are linked to climate change, said the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).

Coconut tree.jpg
(Photo from Pixabay)

To adapt, a project named "Evaluation of Coconut Accessions at Philippine Coconut Authority-Zamboanga Research Center (PCA-ZRC) for Heat and Drought Tolerance Towards Hybridization” is underway to identify heat and drought-tolerant coconut varieties.

“These resources are at high risk of disappearance due to climate change and pest infestations,” DOST-PCAARRD said in a statement on Friday, April 12.

Led by Joel Gerone Larupay, the department said the project involves assessing coconut palms' potential and varietal responses during heat and drought stresses.

Larupay said that his team was able to organize and validate the weather and yield data of 16 hybrids and traditional varieties (14 dwarf and 14 tall) as potential heat and drought-tolerant coconuts for its year-one implementation.

Meanwhile, DOST-PCAARRD also reported that forty percent of the country's total coconut area remains "unexplored" for its genetic resources.

To aid the ongoing efforts, DOST highlighted that researchers are currently securing and conserving coconut genetic resources from remote parts of the country.

It was intended to improve farm productivity and benefit millions of coconut farmers, particularly those in areas heavily impacted by drought and extreme temperature levels, according to DOST.

To further improve the project's implementation, Science and Technology (S&T) Consultant Violeta Villegas recommended considering other indicative traits of other crops correlated to heat and drought stress as additional parameters.

This project, funded by DOST, is a five-year project through the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan's (CFIDP) Coconut Hybridization Program (CHP) Research.

Furthermore, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) encouraged the public to restrict time spent outside, particularly after 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2024/4/13/limit-time-spent-outdoors-due-to-hot-humid-weather-pagasa

The state weather bureau added that the heat index will likely hit a scorching 45 to 46 degrees Celsius (°C), especially in Dagupan City, Pangasinan this weekend.

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2024/4/12/dangerously-hot-weather-heat-index-could-reach-45-to-46-c-this-weekend

Related Tags

department of science and technology - Philippine Council for Agriculture coconut trees DOST-PCAARRD
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.