SELECTION OF COCONUT PALM REPRODUCTIVE PLANTS

Abstract

In 1979 an study was started on coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) germplasm palm, with the two types available in México: the tall and the dwarf types, both of Malasian origin. Firstly, an exploration was made in a section of the Pacific Mexican Coast, from Barra de Navidad in Jalisco to Pinoteca Nacional in Oaxaca. An average annual yield of 10 kg of copra per tree was observed from several plantations having at least three hectares with palm trees of the same age. Selection studies on the tall type were started in two plantations of Lázaro Cárdenas , Michoacán and in one of Tecpan de Galeana, Guerrero; and one for the dwarf type at Tecomán, Colima. Mass selection was practiced during one year in the dwarf palm plantation and for three years in the tall palm type.
By 1986, 27 tall palm trees (3% selection pressure) and 29 dwarf palm trees (9 % selection pressure) had been selected, which had an annual yield average of 37.8 and 47.1 kg of copra per tree, respectively.