Long-term evaluation of indigenous coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) genotypes for yield and quality traits in Tamil Nadu

Abstract

An investigation was carried out at Coconut Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Aliyar Nagar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu during 2008 – 2024 under ICAR – AICRP (plantation crops) scheme to evaluate coconut genotypes for growth and yield parameters. It involved ten locally collected tall genotypes from various places of Tamil Nadu (IC No. IC 610370, 610371, 610372,610373,610374,610375, 610376, 610377, 610378 and 610379). ‘West Coast Tall’ coconut served as standard check. The design followed was Randomized Block Design with three replications. Seedlings were planted during 2008 at a spacing of 7.5 X 7.5 m. and evaluated for sixteen years. The palms were maintained as per the recommended cultivation practices. At the end of sixteen years, all the parameters exhibited significant variations. Among the ten genotypes, IC 610371 [Madhusudhanapuram, Kanyakumari (Dt.)] recorded highest number of leaf scars in 1m length (11.7), leaf production per year (11.9), no. of functional leaves (32.8),leaf length (5.81 m), maximum no. of inflorescence/year (11.9), no. of spike lets/ inflorescence (35.3), no. of female flowers/palm/year (392), highest fruit set (36.61 %), maximum nut yield / palm/ year (138.6), husked fruit weight (649 g), kernel weight (357 g/nut), copra weight (153 g/nut), estimated copra yield/palm/year (21.20 kg), estimated copra yield per haper year (3.71 t) and tender nut water (520 ml per nut). The check variety ‘West Coast Tall’ registered lowest values for most of the above parameters. It witnessed the lowest yield of 95.5 nuts per palm per year. Due to higher nut yield and copra content, the genotype IC 610371 was identified as suitable for cultivation in Tamil Nadu.