Data are presented on growth, flowering and yield of dwarf green, dwarf yellow and dwarf red palms.  The short leaf span of this variety makes it possible to grow about 227 palms per hectare (92 palms per acre).  All three colour forms bear early when compared with the commercially grown typica palm.  However, the dwarf are a failure as a plantation crop for they yield not more than 1.25-2.50 tonnes of copra per hectare (half to one ton of copra per acre).  As dwarf nuts are small  overall production costs per unit of copra would be high.  The dwarf yield 85-113g.  (3-4 ozs.) copra per nut, which is low in comparison with the Ceylon typica (226g. or 8 oz. copra per nut).  Nevertheless, the dwarf variety constitutes a valuable source of breeding material on account of its early bearing character

Manthriratna, M.A.P.

Coconut Research Institute Repository

Ceylon Coeon. Q. (1972) 23, 92-99 Printed in Ceylon. THE PERFORMANCE OF DWARFS (Cocos nucifera L. variety 'nana) AS A PLANTATION CROP IN CEYLON M. A. P. MANTHRIRATNA, Coconut Research Institute, Lunuwila, Ceylon. Data are presented on growth, flowering.and yield of dwarf green, dwarf yellow and dwarf red palms. The short leaf span of this variety makes it possible to grow about 227 palms per hectare (92 palms per acre). All three colour forms bear early when compared with the commercially grown typica palms. However, the dwarfs are a failure as a plantation crop for they yield not more than 1.25-2.50 tonnes of copra per hectare (half to one ton of copra per acre). As dwarf nuts are small, overall production costs per unit Of copra would be high. The dwarfs yield 85-113-g. (3-4 ozs.) copra . per nut, which is low in comparison with the Ceylon typica (226 g. or 8oz. copra per nut). Never- • theless, the dwarf variety constitutes a valuable source of breeding material on account of its early bearing character. INTRODUCTION A number of varieties and forms of the coconut palm Cocos nucifera L. have been identified in the different coconut growing areas of the world, of which the variety typica form typica is by far the commonest and accounts for most of the acreage under coconut cultivation. Much confusion still pre­vails regarding the classification of the varieties and forms, due no doubt to the different criteria used for this purpose, (Menon & Pandalai 1958, Liyanage 1958, Whitehead, 1966). However, the dwarf coconut palm has been recognized as a distinct variety from very early times (Handover 1919, Jack and Sands 1922). According to Handover (1919), the dwarf strains of coconut may have originated as a mutant of the 'tall-type' in Java. On the other hand, Swaminathan and Nambiar (1961), froma study of the cytology of this variety suggest that the dwarfs occurring in nature in different countries may be the products of inbreeding in the 'tall' variety. Some of the features of botanical interest of this variety have been described by Menon & Pandalai (1958), and Liyanage, (1958). There are no large plantations of dwarf coconut palms in Ceylon; A few are grown mainly as ornamental palms and for the water of the tender nut used as a drink. In the absence of data on growth and yield relating to this variety an experimental block of dwarf palms was established at Ratmalagara Research Station in 1940 to study these aspects, and interim reports have been published. This paper reports on the bearing age and productivity of the three colour forms of the variety nana, viz. form pumila (dwarf green); form eburnea (dwarf ivory yellow) and form regia (dwarf red), and aims to assess the per­formance of the dwarfs as a plantation crop in Ceylon. PLANTING MATERIAL Source of Seed Seednuts were taken from dwarf palms at Bandirippuwa Estate, Lunuwila, and Johanawatta Estate, Rajakadaluwa. These palms are suspected to be of "Malayan" origin. 941 open-pollinated progeny 92 DWARF COCONUT AS A PLANTATION CROP 93 of seed palms of the three colour forms were planted at a spacing of 6.7 x 6.7 m (22' X 22') on the square system at the Ratmalagara Research Station in 1939/40. This gave a planting density of 227 palms per hectare (92 palms pet acre). Routine cultural operations have been carried out during the last 30 years and the following records were maintained: Date of first flowering, yield of nuts and total weight of husked nuts per palm. The palms were re-classified in the field in 1970 into dwarf green (form pumila), dwarf yellow (form eburnea), dwarf red (form regia) and natural hybrids, largely on the basis of colour of petiole, inflores­cence and epicarp of the nuts, as well as growth habit. As there were only a few typical dwarf red (form regia) palms, interest is focussed mainly on the performance of the forms pumila and eburnea. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION (a) Growth habit The short habit and early flowering tendency are two useful attributes of the dwarf variety, and a preliminary report on these characters has been submitted earlier, (Liyanage, 19SS). Differences in the growth habit among the three colour forms are evident even on a visual examination and some mea­surements made when the palms were 17 years old are given in table 1. It would appear from these figures that all three colour forms are 2.6—3 m. (8-10 feet) tall, and • have a smaller leaf spread 3.7 m (12 feet) compared with typica palms of the same age. The forms pumila and regia have a fewer number of leaves on the crown compared with the form eburnea, whose leaf pro­duction is of the same order as that of the variety typica. As each leaf axil produces an inflorescence, this would mean that the form eburnea bears more inflorescences and bunches per year compared with the other two colour forms. Girth of the stem also reveals an interesting feature. The Ceylon typica often shows massive 'bole' formation above ground level, and this may perhaps be a reflection of the degree of surface planting that is practised in Ceylon. 'Bole' formation above ground is practically absent in the three colour forms of dwarfs for their trunks are of uniform girth at the soil surface and about a metre above ground level. (b) Period for flowering The period taken for flowering from the date of transplantation is indicated in the frequency dis­tribution for this character (table 2). The mean period for flowering is given in table 3. It will be observed from table 2 that over 60 percent of green dwarfs (form pumila) and red dwarfs (form regia) have flowered in under 60 months, compared with only 33 percent of yellow dwarfs (form eburnea). Thus, the forms pumila and regia produce earlier than the form eburnea. The variety nana is known to flower much earlier than the mean flowering periods in table 3 would indicate, and the delayed flowe­ring in this field trial may perhaps be a reflection of soil-type as well as climatic conditions during the first few years of growth. This is reflected in the period for flowering of second generation progenies of form pumila seed parents planted at the Coconut Seed Garden, Ambakelle in 1959 where the mean period for flowering is 36.5 months (table 4). (c) Yield of nuts, copra and oil The dwarf variety of coconuts is reported to be a heavy yielder, although the nuts tend to be small when compared with the typica variety. Tables 5 and 6 give the yield of the progeny of 11 dwarf green (form pumila) and 10 dwarf yellow (form eburnea) seed parents for an eight year period. The mean yield per palm per year has varied between 53-100 nuts. As regards nut size, the form eburnea has an appreciably heavier husked nut than the form pumila. (The yield data relating to the form regia palms are not presented as they are few and cannot be grouped into a sufficient number of families as the other two forms). No typica palms were grown 94 M. A. P. MANTHRTRATNA in this experimental block, and therefore the yield of the dwarfs may be compared with that of pumila X typica natural cross Fj hybrids of similar age and grown with the dwarfs (table 7). This field experiment was planted at a spacing of 6.7 x 6.7 m (22 ft. x 22 ft) on the square system giving a density of 227 palms per hectare (92 palms per acre). The yield (calculated) of nuts and copra per unit area of land is given in table 8. During 1968/1969 nuts from the three colour forms as well as the natural hybrids were cured separately and table 9 gives the weight of copra per nut as well as copra out-turns. The forms pumila and eburnea appear to out-yield the natural hybrids (table 8). However, it needs to be emphasised, that in calculating these figures, a planting density of 227 palms per hectare (92 palms per acre) has been used for the forms pumila and eburnea compared with 1S8 palms per hectare (64 palms per acre) for the natural hybrids, the latter being the normal planting density in Ceylon for typica as well as hybrid palms. Furthermore, in a crop where the kernel weight is economically important the number of nuts alone is no criterion of productivity. Weight of copra and copra out-turn constitute a better index of produc­tion. It will be observed from table 9 that 8,600-12,250 nuts of dwatf varieties are required for a ton of copra compared with 6,500 nuts of the natural hybrids. The out-turn of Ceylon typica is about 4,000-5,200 nuts per ton of copra, (Liyanage, 1958). Thus, when overall production costs are taken into account all forms of dwarfs appear to be a failure as a plantation crop compared with the commercially grown typica variety. In this regard it is reported that in Jamaica the Malayan dwarf out-yields the tall variety (Harries 1970, Smith 1970, Romney 1971). According to Smith loc. cit. "the use of dwarf varieties among several crop plants has resulted in more plants per acre and thereby an increase in yield. The Jamaican farmer has been virtually forced to accept Malayan dwarf palms in the absence of any alternative disease-resistant, coconut". Thus, the production of Jamaican "Tails" has been discontinued since 1967, and the issue of dwarf seedlings has risen to 488,000 in 1968 and about 500,000 seedlings in 1969, (Shaw 1971). The form pumila (which has the smallest nut) has a slightly higher oil content when compared with the forms eburnea and regia, (table 10). However, when the size difference in the nuts of the three colour forms is taken into account, the production of oil per unit area of land may be the same in all three colour forms of dwarf although this aspect was not studied. The dwarf coconut palm constitutes a source of valuable breeding material, largely on account of its early-bearing character. Increasing use is now being made of all colour forms of dwarfs for the large scale production of typica x nana hybrids in Ceylon and elsewhere. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This field trial was initiated by Mr. W. V. D. Pieris former Geneticist. Dr. D. V. Liyanage, former Botanist and presently F.A.O. Coconut Replanting Officer, Tonga, was also associated with this over a number of years. Grateful acknowledgement is made to both of them as well as to the Staff, Division of Botany and Plant Breeding, who participated in continuous recording of these palms and proces­sing of data. REFERENCES Handover, W. P. 1919, Malay. Agric. J. 7, 295. Harries, H. C. 1970 Oleagineux 25, 527. Jack, H. W. and Sands W.N. 1922 Malay. Agric. J. 10,4. Liyanage, D. V. 1957, Rep. Coeon. Res. Inst. Ceylon for 1955. Liyanage, D. V. 1955, Ceylon Coeon. 9,1. Menon, K. P. V. and Pandalai, K. M..1956 The Coconut Palm • A Monograph Eranakulam, Indian Central Coconut Committee. Romney, D. H. 1971, Oleagineux 26,25. Shaw, F. D. 1971, Oleagineux 26, 593. Smith, R. W. 1970, Oleagineux 25, 593. Swaminathan, M. S. and Nambiar, M. C. 1961 Nature 192,85. Whitehead, R. A. 1966, Trop. Agric. Trin. 43,277. Table 1—Growth Measurements Form pumila (green) Form eburnea (yellow) Form regia (red) Typica Height of palms to base of crown {ft.) (metres) Girth 6" (15cm) above ground inches cm of stem " | 3 ft. (90 cm) above ground inches cm Spread of leaves ft. metres No. of leaves 8.5 2.6 10.4 3.2 9.7 2.9 22.2 6.7 26.6 66 32.9 83 27.4 68 55.3 139 24.3 61 26.3 66 24.5 61 35.1 89 12.0 3.7 12.4 3.8 12.2 3.7 16.2 4.9 27.8 32.6 29.7 32.1 96 M. A. P. MANTHRIRATNE Table 2—Frequency distribution of period for flowering Period for flowering Months •form pumila form eburnea. form regia natural hybrids < 30 '— — • — 31 — 36 1 — 1 — 37 — 42 4 1 — — 43 — 48 81 11 6 4 % in flower at 48 months 26.1 5.6 22.5 3 7 49 — 54 71 23 13 6 55 — 60 60 36 4 7 % in flower at 60 months 66.0 33.3 . 60.0 15.9 61 — 66 75 45 4 24. 67 — 72 19 28 3 . 13 73 — 78 9 21 6 22 79 — 84. I 27 1" 7 > 85 8 21 2 • 24 Table 3—Mean period for flowering Variety No. of palms Mean period for flowering {months) Nana form pumila (dwarf green) 327 56.6 Nana form eburnea (dwarf yellow) 214 67:2 Nana form regia (dwarf red) 40 60.0 Natural hybrids (from cross pollination of dwarfs) 107 72.6 Table 4—Period for flowering of form pumila (second generation) progenies planted at the Coconut Seed Garden, Ambakelle Original Seed No. of Mean period for parent progenies flowering months 344 (dwarf green) 21 36.6 1712 17 37.7 1731 47 36.3 1482 18 36.4 1822 46 36.5 2646 29 34.7 2647 56 35-7 2649 . „ 67 36.5 2662 40 38.0 2663 106 37.3 2706 64 35.5 Mean flowering period (511 progenies) 36.5 months Table S—Yield of dwarf green (form pumila) progenies for an eight-year period 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 No. of Wt. of Wt.of No. of Wt. of Wt.of Wt.of Wt.of Wt.of Wt.of Mother Proge­ No. of husked No. of husked husked No. of husked No. of husked No. of husked No. of husked No. of husked Palm nies nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts (lb.) (lb.) (lb.) (lb.) (lb.) (lb.) (lb.) (lb.) 2647DG 25 1387 1038 2303 1577 1509 952 2176 1180 1938 966 1911 1296 1936 974 2615 1980 2649 34 2022 1487 2407 1684 1714 1115 2526 1545' 2159 1131 2756 1826 2123 1138 3610 2489 2646 9 495 433 810 527 625 423 666 417 825 678 866 625 699 382 885 882 2662 28 1446 1157 2354 1647 1766 1140 2005 1198 2216 1168 2688 1796 1843 983 2814 1908 2663 37 1880 1715 3045 2095 2452 1649 2843 1693 2901 1490 3406 2443 2680 1413 3880 2909 2706 23 1090 777 1747 1166 1116 652 1656 993 1527 710 1910 1241 1340 675 2020 1411 1731 11 553 456 705 505 553 331 766 466 698 364 791 550 798 422 890 645 1822 16 886 708 1327 897 1039 683 1229 706 1380 691 1481 1011 1141 660 1823 1281 1712 11 496 411 617 424 584 370 638 376 608 291 807 527 755 418 946 656 1713 7 411 344 478 347 479 341 475 282 457 231 637 460 471 235 677 514 1482 9 510 392 796 535 603 380 831 454 752 371 917 651 756 408 975 751 Total 210 11176 8918 16589 11404 12440 8036 15811 9310 15461 8091 18170 12426 14542 7708 21135 15426 Nuts/palm 53 79 59 75 74 86 69 100 Wt./nut (lb.) 0.80 0.69 0.65 0.59 0.52 0.69 0.53 0.73 Wt./nut (g) 362 312 294 267 235 312 240 330 Table 6—Yield of dwarf yellow (form eburnea) progenies for an eight-year period 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 Mother No. of Wt.of Wt.of Wt.of Wt.of Wt.of Wt. of Wt.of Wt.of No. of husked No. of husked No. of husked No. of husked No. of husked No. of husked No. of husked No. of husked Palm Proge­ nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts nies (lb.) (lb.) (lb.) (lb.) (lb.) (lb.) (lb.) (lb.) 60DY 9 465 508 545 633 433 357 500 597 524 444 609 821 508 494 787 892 88 10 460 530 842 985 475 468 646 802 627 555 759 940 691 639 944 1189 61 15 1392 964 1582 1122 1765 '947 1222 957 2350 1074 1503 1138 2598 1416 1925 1470 82 13 619 838 1046 1624 748 847 694 889 960 915 1212 1504 842 908 1222 1510 55 15 682 793 933 968 617 590 878 889 655 636 892 1073 892 862 1346 1555 47 -7 457 699 405 557 493 644 455 656 495 610 564 885 518 843 746 1050 26 11 680 833 796 866 659 649 895 612 689 620 1002 1196 838 815 1245 1526 3 5 236 271 306 . 319 215 173 301 323 274 204 363 390 286 239 371 410 79 10 484 607 802 886 633 639 660 773 602 466 1020 1173 612 524 ' 1038 1173 80 14 617 750 795 861 699 728 683 788 709 652 958 1279 676 760 1207 1363 Total 109 6092 6793 8052 8821 6737 6042 6934 7286 7885 6176 8882 10399 8461 7500 10830 12138 Nuts/palm 56 74, 62 64 72 81 78 99 Wt./nut (lb.) 1.11 1.09 0.89 1.04 0.79 1.18 0.88 1.12 Wt./nut (g) 502 493 403 471 357 534 398 507 1 DWARF COCONUT AS A PLANTATION CROP 99 Table 7—Yield of pumila x typica natural hybrids ' 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 I 1961 1962 Mean yield/palm/year 78 74 77 81 90 99 105 122 Weight/nut (lb.) 1.31 1.38 1.16 1.36 1.12 1.48 1.36 1.50 Weight/nut (g) 593 625 525 616 507 670 616 679 Table 8—Yield of nuts 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 Yield per Hectare Form pumila* Yield per Acre 12043 4876 17952 7268 13407 5428 17043 6900 16815 6808 19542 7912 15679 6348 22724 9200 Yield per Hectare Form eburnea* Yield per Acre 12725 5152 16815 6808 14088 5704 14543 5888 16361 6624 18406 7452 17724 7176 22496 9108 Yield per Hectare Natural hybrids^ Yield per Acre 12330 4992 11697 4736 12172 4928 12804 5184 14227 5760 15649 6336 16598 6720 19270 7802 * Planting density 92 palms/acre — 227 palms/hectare | Planting density 64 palms/acre — 158 palms/hectare Table 9—Copra out-turn of the variety nana and natural hybrids Type No. of nuts cured Weight of copra (lb.) (kg) weight of copra per nut (oz.) (gm) Nuts/ton of copra (approx.) form pumila form eburnea form regia natural hybrids 15002 17841 2677 17354 2740 1243 4626 2103 673 305 5920 2685 3.00 85 4.00 113 4.00 113 5.50 156 12,250 8,650 8,900 6,550 Table 10—Oil content (percent—dry basis) Date of pick/percent oil Type 7.9.68 5.11.68 21.1.69 1.3.69 30.5.69 6.10.69 form pumila 70.02 66.12 71.23 70.83 72.23 69.89 form eburnea 67.01 66.12 69.62 68.29 68.24 66.05 form regia 69.04 — 69.23 66.79 67.90 66.02 Natural hybrids 67.79 66.87 71.18 69.62 70.12 69.90 Souice: Ceylon Cocon. Q. 20;4l and 21:19 

The performance of dwarfs (Cocos nucifera L. variety nana) as a plantation crop in Ceylon

Manthriratne, M.A.P.