Abstract
Seedlings were raised in three, nurseries representing different agro-ecologicalregions, to. test whether growing seedlings exhibited adaptation to a particularenvironment. Seed nuts were also selected from agro-ecologically different regions.The T x T seed nuts from the Isolated coconut seed garden showed a faster rate ofgermination at all sites compared to Moorock seed nuts (from the North Westernregion) or Dehigahalande seed nuts (from the Southern region). The vigor ofseedlings (a qualitative assessment based on the number of vigorous seedlingsselected) was enhanced by a good soil water supply during the early nursery stagescombined with a higher level of solar-radiation at the nursery site. There was nointeraction between the source of seed nut and site of nursery indicating the absenceof manifestation of ecological adaptation at the seedling nursery. The quality of theseedlings was enhanced by adequate soil water and high level of solar radiation onthe nursery' beds. The subsequent performance, of these seedlings would havefollowed up after field planting to confirm the assumptions on adaptation discussed.
Highlights
The national coconut planting programme in Sri Lanka has targeted to replant/ underplant 2 % of the area currently under coconut which amounts to approximately 9000 ha annually
In 1990, 2.5 million seedlings were raised in coconut nurseries to be distributed throughout the country
While the seed gardens were able to supply only 12% of this requirement (Peries, 1990) the balance was supplied through elite palms in selected estates, referred to as "plus palms" (Liyanage, 1983)
Summary
The national coconut planting programme in Sri Lanka has targeted to replant/ underplant 2 % of the area currently under coconut which amounts to approximately 9000 ha annually. The weather conditions during the experiment in the three nurseries (Table 1) indicate that there were varying number of rain free weeks after laying seednuts at the different nursery sites. The low relative humidity at Medamulana (70%) compared to Bandirippuwa (76%) and Attavillu (74%) supports the argument that during the early period of seed germination, seed beds at Medamulana were dryer than that in the other two locations (Table 1).
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