On January 17th 2016, we visited the IOOP laboratory for production of Macapuno seedlings by in vitro culture.
In vitro culture is conducted in commercial glass bottles (Coca Cola or Pepsi) that are broken at the end of the process. This technique "made in Vietnam" is very cheap, as 25 bottles are bought for 1 USD. Ms Ngo indicates that the small size of the opening of the bottle is efficient to reduce contaminations when compared to other more expensive glass containers with wider opening.
Each Makapuno coconut is bought at 5 USD; two Makapuno nuts give one viable seedling from embryo culture (50% global survival rate). A Macapuno seedling from vitro culture is sold 35 USD to farmers. About 2000 seedlings are sold annually. The lab could produce more but the market is not enough, at least partially because of the high price of the seedlings.
Makapuno in Vietnam - Dua Sap
See Publication in Cocoinfo international volume 20, 2, 2013.
As indicated long time ago by G.Santos from PCA, the pandan smell of Aromatic can also be detected at the nursery stage in the new young leaves and the roots. On adult palms, it is also possible to detect it on the young leaves, young roots (and, of course, the water of the fruit).