The Marc Delorme Station, IDEFOR/DPO, has one of the most important collections of coconut germplasm in the world today. The size and the geographic diversity of these ecotypes renders the collection suitable for studying genetic diversity in the species Cocos nucifera. Several methods are used for assessing the genetic variability within and between the ecotypes. At present, collection is conserved by planting in the field; the cryopreservation of zygotic embryos will soon be a complementary method. This germplasm collection is used in a breeding programme which has given some excellent results; this allows the Marc Delorme Station to play a key role in providing unique planting material to research and development programmes in Africa and several countries in the world. The international importance of this germplasm collection has been recognized by the International Coconut Genetic Resources Network (COGENT) which chose it as the regional germplasm centre for Africa; this provides an opportunity for other coconut research and development centres to take advantage of results achieved at the Marc Delorme Station.

Le jaunissement mortel, maladie de premiere importance du cocotier, se deplace et s'etend de maniere totalement imprevisible. Les recherches ont porte sur les vecteurs, les methodes de lutte, les tests de sensibilites varietales et epidemiologiques. La seule methode de lutte est la selection de varietes ou hybrides tolerants. Tres peu de varietes montrent une reelle tolerance. Plusieurs hybrides ont montre un comportement interessant, mais il est necessaire de tester le materiel vegetal le plus tolerant a une echelle suffisante. (Resume d'auteurs)