The coconut palm occupies a significant place in the world economy as an important subsistence and cash crop in all the areas where it is cultivated. Unfortunately, yields are generally well below potential despite recent developments with improved planting stock and agronomic practices. In the last 50 years both aspects have received considerable attention, but the focus is shifting to investigate how the use of recently developed biotechnological techniques can benefit the coconut industry. This volume is the first one published on coconut biotechnology and the papers were presented at a symposium on this subject held in Mexico in December 1997. The volume describes recent research in three important areas of this field: (a) molecular markers, diversity and genetic improvements, (b) molecular detection and diagnosis of diseases; and (c) in vitro propagation. It also deals with the impact of biotechnology on the coconut industry, weighing the advantages and pointing out areas where work should be directed to stimulate further research.