Abstract
Coconut palm is one of the most important plantation crops in the world. Selecting the best planting materials for field planting assures higher productivity. Cost of production of coconut seedling is very high in coconut nurseries, because as coir dust is becoming scarce even within the Coconut Triangle. The use of coir dust in the potting mixture might not be feasible in the near future. Therefore, it is important to test the suitability of other options available for replacing coir dust. Moisture absorbent hydro polymer (Zeba) is one of the best alternatives to be used instead of coir dust in potting media of coconut seedlings. Thus, this experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of moisture absorbent hydro polymer on growth of coconut seedlings and water retention characteristics of the growth media.
 The experiment was carried in a plant house and the laboratory at the Agronomy Division, Coconut Research Institute of Sri Lanka (CRI), Lunuwila. The treatments were laid according to Completely. Randomized Design (CRD) with twelve replicates. Different potting mixtures were used as treatments. Growth parameters of the seedlings and the moisture parameters of the growth media; moisture content and the water holding capacity were measured and analyzed.
 There was no significant difference (P>0.05) between the tested treatments in seedling girth and root volume. The results revealed that there were significant (P<0.05) differences between the treatments on seedling height, number of fully opened leaves, leaf area, dry shoot weight, dry root weight, soil moisture content and soil water retention capacity. The highest plant growth rate was recorded in T1 • There were significant (P<0.05) differences between the treatments on number of fully opened leaves at 10th and 12th weeks after planting. T1 (Top soil 4 kg+ coir dust 4 kg+ organic manure 4 kg) exhibited the highest seedling height, number of fully opened leaves, leaf area, dry shoot weight and dry root weight. Same as the T1 potting mixture, the T3 potting mixture also showed a considerable increase in plant height, number of fully opened leaves, leaf area, dry shoot weight, dry root weight of coconut seedlings. T3 exhibited the highest soil moisture content and water retention capacity. Therefore, the application of moisture absorbent hydro polymer can be used to get maximum growth and soil moisture characteristics of coconut seedlings.
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