Plantation Crops

B. SELECTION OF MOTHER PALMS

• Adequate care should be taken while selecting mother palms in coconut as to avoid palms of low genetic potential. Take care to select mother palms based on the following features in a reputed coconut seed plantation.

1. Age of the palms:
It should attain a age of at least 20 years and not above 60 years of age. Select palms which have attained full bearing stage and have been giving regularly high yields for atleast four years (if it is from unknown parentage). However, seed nuts can be collected from newly established seed gardens irrespective of its age as it comes form the progeny of known parentage.

2. Yield:
Selected palms should be a regular high yielder yielding
Not less than 100 nuts per palm per year
Not less than 150 g copra content per nut ( Nut weight = 1.20 kg unhusked and 0.60 kg husked)
Yielding potential can be assessed by counting number of nuts on the crown.

3. Shape of the crown (Nature and disposition of leaves on the crown):
In coconut total number of fronds on the crown should be more than 30 and generally crown shape is




? = In coconut we have to select spherical fronded palms as there is a positive correlation with yield.
A mother palm should have at least 30 fully opened leaves having leaf orientation in all directions i.e., umbrella shaped fronds. Long and thin petioles are not desirable because they are liable to be weak and may easily bend or break under pressure.
Hence select palms with strong petiole with wide leaf base firmly attached to the stem. Leaf petiole should provide adequate support to the developing bunches there by minimizing the possibility of buckling of the bunch stalk and shedding of nuts in the immature stages.


4.Nature, Number and sequence of production of inflorescence:
Every leaf axil should have one inflorescence with large number of spikes (30 to 35 spikes per inflorescence) and one or two female flowers per spike.
Bunch stalk should be sort, stout and strong and should not show any tendency to droop down and buckle. Palms having thin, long and pendulous inflorescence stalks are undesirable. At any time there should be 12 bunches with nuts at different stages of development.



5. Size and shape of nuts:
Fully dried unhusked nuts should weigh more than 1.20 kg and husked nut should be more than 600 g and copra content of 150 g and above. Nuts of round and oblong shape are better if selected. Palms producing barren nuts or those shedding large number of immature nuts should be discarded.