Copra Yield Research Articles

Hengniu: Fast Bearing and High Yielding Coconut Varieties

Benefits of coconut varieties that stakeholders want are early bearing, high yielding, short stems, and slow growth for height. Most local tall coconut palms in Indonesia have stem height above 20 m, making it increasingly difficult to climb to harvest fruit or tapping sap thereby making the harvesting cost high. To breed varieties of desired characters, an evaluation trial was initiated in 2014 with BYD x MTT-S4, RAD x MTT-S4, and KHINA-1 as a control. The crossing was done in 2012 and seedlings planted in January 2014 at Mapanget Experimental Garden, Indonesian Palma Crops Research Institute, North Sulawesi. The study used a Randomized Block Design (RBD) of three types of coconut hybrids, four replications with a plot size of 16 trees. Morphological observations were carried out on stem, crown and leaf characters, inflorescences and flowers, nut production, fruit components, copra, oil content, and fatty acid composition. The results of ANOVA analysis and statistical tests obtained those vegetative characters, such as stem circumference and number of leaf, generative characters namely the number of bunches, first flowering, and fruit production of these three crosses at the age of 4 years after planting, did not show a significant difference. The first initial flowering was in the coconut hybrid of RBD x MTT-S4, which is 26 months, followed by BYD x MTT-S4 in 32 months and KHINA-1 in 36 months after planting. The results of the analysis of fruit and copra production at the age of 5 years showed a significant increase between hybrid coconuts. The highest to lowest fruit production was obtained in BYD x MTT-S4 hybrid coconut, RBD x MTT-S4, KHINA-1, which were 64 nuts, 44 nuts and 26 nuts /palm respectively, or estimated copra production was 2.26 tons, 1.45 tons and 0.88 tons copra/ha. At 6 years old the harvest of fruits from the three hybrid coconuts is obtained sequentially 118 nuts, 99 nuts and 94 nuts/palm. While estimation of copra yield per hectare is found the highest in BYD x MTT-S4 hybrid coconut is 3.86 ton/ha/year and this yield differently significant compare with RBD x MTT-S4 is found 3.04 ton/ha/year, and control hybrid of KHINA-1, which is about 2.74 ton/ha/year. Based on the production potential, hence the estimated optimum production when aged over 10 years can reach more than 5 tons/ha/year. The hybrid coconut variety BYD x MTT-S4 is released in October 2019 under the name HENGNIU.

Performance of coconut hybrids and varieties in the East coast of Andhra Pradesh

Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) is one of the plantation crops with more life span, so suitability of a variety or hybrid for particular region may improve the productivity of the coconut. An experiment was carried out with seven hybrids and two varieties viz. Chandra Sankara (COD × WCT), Chandra Laksha (LCT x COD), VHC1 (ECT × MGD), VHC-2 (ECT × MYD), Kera Ganga (WCT × GBGD), Laksha Ganga (LCT × GBGD), Godavari Ganga (ECT x GBGD), Kera Chandra (Double Century) and Chandra Kalpa at Dr.YSRHUHorticultural Research Station, Ambajipeta, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema Dist., Andhra Pradesh. The experiment was initiated in 2002, in Randomized Block Design in three replicated blocks. The compiled data for six years (2015- 2021) revealed that, Godavari Ganga recorded significantly highest nut yield /palm/year (144.40 nuts) followed by VHC-2 (134.93 nuts) and Kera Ganga (133.33 nuts). Godavari Ganga recorded maximum copra yield of 3.20 t/ha and oil yield of 2.20 t/ha. Tender nut water quantity was recorded more (322.5 mL) in VHC-2 and Godavari Ganga. Due to its superior nut, copra and oil yield, Godavari Ganga and VHC-2 can be recommended for cultivation Andhra Pradesh.

Performance Evaluation of Exotic Coconut Genotypes to Assess their Suitability for Cultivation in the Western Zone of Tamil Nadu

Identification and utilization potential genotypes for development of high yielding cultivars with distinctive traits is the need of the hour to cope up with the shifting demand of international market. The present research examination was carried among seven exotic coconut genotypes viz., San Ramon Tall (SNRT), Federated Malay States Tall (FMST), British Solomon Island Tall (BSIT), Zanzibar Tall (ZNT), St. Vincent Tall (STVT), Gonthembili Tall (GTBT) and Java Tall (JVT) in comparison with three indigenous coconut ecotypes viz., Tiptur Tall (TPT), East Coast Tall (ECT), and Arasampatti Tall (APT) at ICAR-AICRP (Palms) centre, Coconut Research Station, Aliyarnagar. The investigation was intended to identify suitable exotic coconut genotypes with increased copra quantity and quality along with good tender nut parameters for cultivation in the Western Zone of Tamil Nadu. Based on the observations recorded over a period of eight years from 2010 to 2017, Federated Malay States recorded maximum girth (121.2cm) while San Ramon Tall was found to be superior in terms of floral traits and inflorescence production per year. Java tall produced maximum number of buttons per inflorescence (26.0)among the genotypes evaluated. The highest annual nut yield was recorded by Zanzibar Tall (106.6 nuts per palm per year)followed by Federated Malay States (99.9 nuts per palm per year), while San Ramon Tall also recorded considerable nut yield of 75.3 nuts per palm per year. Sanramon Tall recorded the highest average copra content (333.2 gram per nut) with an estimated copra yield of 25.1 Kg per palm per year. Taking into consideration of yield attributes, fruit component traits and tender nut quality parameters, the exotic genotypes San Ramon Tall (SNRT) and Federated Malay States Tall (FMST) were found to be suitable for cultivation in the Western zones of Tamil Nadu.

Correlation and path coefficient studies for fruit component traits in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) hybrids

The present investigation was carried out at the ICAR-AICRP Palms centre, Coconut Research Station, TNAU, Aliyarnagar, Tamil Nadu during 2012 to 2020 with five location specific coconut hybrids along with two tall varieties as local adopted checks viz., West Coast Tall (WCT) and Kalpatharu. Correlation and path analysis was performed to assess the association among nut yield and copra yield with important yield contributing traits in Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.). Correlation and path analysis revealed that copra yield per palm was positively and significantly associated with the fruit component traits viz., nut yield per palm per year, de-husked nut weight, whole nut weight, copra weight, fruit breadth and fruit length. A positive correlation was found among fruit component traits viz, fruit length, fruit breadth, whole nut weight, de-husked nut weight and copra weight. Path coefficient analysis showed that nut yield, de-husked nut weight, and copra weight recorded the highest positive direct effect on copra yield per palm. The results of the present study suggest that selection for high copra yield based on the total number of nuts per palm per year, copra weight per nut and de-husked nut weight in coconut would be rewarding for developing high yielding genotypes in coconut.

Potential coconut (Cocos nucifera) hybrids developed using Gangabondam (GBGD) as maternal parent for yield and quality for southern dry tract of Karnataka (India)

A long term evaluation of nine coconut (Coconut nucifera L.) hybrids with a local check was conducted under irrigated conditions at All India Coordinated Research Project on Palms, Horticulture Research Station, Arsikere, Karnataka. The experimental material consisted of nine hybrids with different cross combinations, viz. Tall × Tall, Tall × Dwarf and Dwarf × Tall along with TPT (Tiptur Tall) as local check planted during 1987-1988 and evaluated for yield performance for a period of 18 years (till 2015-16). Among the nine coconut hybrids evaluated, the cross combinations involving dwarf as female parent (Gangabondam) and tall cultivars as male parent, viz. GBGD × LCOT, GBGD × PHOT and GBGD × FJT performed superior and recorded significantly higher nut yield (128.6, 124.3 and 110.3 nuts palm-1 year-1, copra yield 22.0, 19.8 and 16.3 copra kg palm-1 year-1), with oil yield ranged from 11.5 to 13.8 kg palm-1 year-1when compared to local check. Hybrids possessed higher quantity of organoleptically 'good' tender nut water (326 to 395.4 ml) with TSS of 5.6 to 6.2 °Brix , 26.0 to 31.6 ppm of sodium and 2025.1 to 2110.1 ppm of potassium.

Fertigation Effects on Nutrient Use Efficiency, Energy Productivity, and Economics of Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) Cultivation in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia

ABSTRACT Drip fertigation has potential to reduce fertilizer dose in comparison to surface application in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) by increasing its’ use efficiency in the Eastern Gangetic plains of South Asia. A long-term field experiment (2007–2013) was conducted on Inceptisol to evaluate 100% of the soil test-based recommended fertilizer dose (RDF; N:P2O5:K2O applied at 500:250:750 g palm−1 year−1) in soil with ring basin irrigation as conventional, 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, and 0% of the RDF through drips. The fertigation level of 75% RDF resulted in 32%, 19%, 39%, and 16% higher copra yield, energy productivity, net return, and benefit-cost ratio, respectively, over conventional. Increasing trend of nutrient use efficiency was observed with decreasing dose of N, P and K. Use efficiencies decreased from 50.4 kg copra kg−1 N, 230.7 kg copra kg−1 P, and 40.5 kg copra kg −1 K (with 25% of the RDF through drip) to 6.1 kg copra kg−1 N, 27.8 kg copra kg−1 P, and 4.9 kg copra kg−1 K (with 100% RDF through ring basin irrigation). Fertigation with 75% RDF in drip had the highest copra yield (3.19 t ha−1), energy output (206082 MJ ha−1), energy productivity (187 g copra MJ−1), net returns (US $ 3073 ha−1), and benefit–cost ratio (2.36) compared to others.

Fertigation Effects on Productivity, and Soil and Plant Nutrition of Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia

ABSTRACTFertigation has the potential to reduce extra chemical load by improving nutrient and water use efficiency of coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), but studies demonstrating the fertilizer reduction through drip irrigation in comparison to conventional ring basin method are rare in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of South Asia. A long-term field experiment was conducted during 2007–2013 in West Bengal, India, to study the effect of fertigation on coconut var. DXT. The experiment was laid out in a randomised complete block design (RCBD) with six treatments (control – no fertilizers and water applied with drip irrigation; 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), each applied with drip irrigation; and 100% of the RDF and water applied with ring basin method of irrigation (i.e., conventional method)). Nuts yield was significantly higher for 75% of RDF (24.44 t ha−1 year−1) followed by 100% of RDF, each drip irrigation (23.79 t ha−1 year−1) compared to control (21.89 t ha−1 year−1). Copra yield was significantly higher for 75% of RDF (3.19 t ha−1) compared to 100% of RDF (3.12 t ha−1) and no fertilizer (1.87 t ha−1). Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) contents of soil increased by 4.9%, 10.4% and 9.4%, respectively, with 75% of RDF applied through drip irrigation. Microbial population showed inverse relationship with amount of fertilizer application. The most water-use efficient fertigation treatment was 75% RDF (13.48 kg copra m−3) followed by 100% RDF (13.18 kg copra m−3) with drip irrigation as compared to conventional way soil application of fertilizers through ring basin method of irrigation (4.23 kg copra m−3). Role of N on yield variability was most prominent by both available soil N status (R2 = 0.49**) and leaf N concentration (R2 = 0.51**). The study indicated that there is a great scope for reducing the N, P and K fertilizers by up to 25% of the present RDFs for coconut when applied through drip irrigation compared to ring basin method of irrigation for its higher productivity and profitability through efficient use of nutrients and water in the Eastern IGP of South Asia.

THE CURRENT SCENARIO AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE COCONUT INDUSTRY

Coconut (Cocos nucifera) or commonly known as 'tree of life ' is planted in over 90 countries, mainly in Asia, Pacific Islands and South America. The total world planted area of coconut is about 12 million ha with the annual estimated potential production of70 billion nuts. Currently, India, Indonesia and Philippines are the major coconut producers, contributing more than 75 per cent of the total global production. The coconut industry has shown rapid growth in the development of coconut products and is in great demand from the American, European, Middle East and East Asian markets. Coconut oil, copra meal, desiccated coconut and coir products are the traditional coconut products, whereas coconut water, virgin coconut oil, coconut milk and cream are amongst those that show the fastest growth. New coconut hybrids have been introduced, whereby their potential copra yield ranged from 7. 65 to 9.12 tonnes per hectare per year. New invasive pests such as Brontispa longissima, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, Aceria guerreronis and Aspidiotus rigidus have recently been reported attacking coconut farms in South East Asia. Meanwhile, lethal yellowing disease (LYD) that is caused by phytoplasma is the most devastating coconut disease that is currently affecting the coconut production in the Caribbean, Americas and African countries. However, the recent discovery of Bogia coconut syndrome in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the first report of a lethal yellowing disease in Oceania, brings great concern. The coconut industry is driven by the rapid growth and significant demand of coconut based products globally, which has proven to generate greater economic returns for the coconut producers. Therefore, the countries that are heavily dependent on a single industrial crop should take this opportunity to diversify their plantation crop to coconut as their new economic crop. Keywords: Coconut production, coconut supply and demand, coconut products, planting material, pest and disease.

Lampanah Local Tall-A High Yielding Variety for Replanting Coconut in Tsunami Affected Aceh Province Area

Aceh province is one of major coconut producing areas in Indonesia. In 2013 coconut areas in Aceh province was 107,654 ha in which total production of copra was equivalent to 63,743 tons. The entire coconut area in Aceh belong to smallholders. The coconut production in this area began to decrease in 2005 by an average of 9 percent per year, which was mainly caused by the tsunami. This had resulted in damage to many crops. Efforts to increase production and productivity of coconut plantation in Aceh needed rejuvenation of the old or unproductive coconut palms with the use of seeds of improved quality. Based on the results of the research conducted during 2014-2016, it is known that the origin of the Lampanah tall is passed from generation to generation and is a native of coconut in Aceh Besar Regent, Aceh Province. The morphology of Lampanah tall coconut comprising of the crown of leaves, stems, flowers and fruits in general is quite uniform. Of the data on the 23 quantitative characters, all have a value of coefficient of variance below 20%, except the character of 11 leaf scars obtained 23.29%. In the case of polar girth, Lampanah tall coconut is generally greater than the equatorial girth, fruit shape classified as round, egg-shaped and elliptic. The seednut of Lampanah tall generally round shape. The Lampanah tall coconut has the number of bunches at 13.35/palm and the number of fruit at 9.25 fruits/bunch or an average of 138 fruits/palm/ year. Fresh coconut meat weight is 449 g/nut or approximately 224 g copra/nut and the potential for copra production was 30.97 kg/palm/year or 3.80 tons of copra/ha/year. The fat content of Lampanah tall coconut was 66.40%, the water content of copra approximately 3.42% and protein at approximately 6.81%. Total saturated fatty acids was at 94.27%, medium chain saturated fatty acids at 67.21% and lauric acid content at 46.50%. The seed source of Lampanah tall coconut has been a selection of as much as 72 Selected Mother Palms (MAS) from a total of 407 palms of the High Yielding Block. The selected population is characterised with traits like copra yield more than 2.0 ton/ha/year, free from attack pests and diseases, number of bunch more than 12 per year, total nuts more than 7/bunch and weight of meat more than 400 g/nut. The MAS of Lampanah tall whole coconut has been marked using GPS. The Aceh government will build a minimum of 5 ha Coconut tall Seed Gardens on government land, as the development of source of Lampanah tall seednuts. Based on the above results, it can be concluded that the Lampanah tall coconut with plenty of nuts, at an average of 138 nuts per palm could be released as one of the national high yielding coconut.

Assessing the performance of fruit colour based phenotypes of tall (Typica) coconuts (Cocos nucifera L.) in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka tall (variety Typica, form typica) is the most widely cultivated coconut form in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka tall coconuts display variation in fruit colour ranging from green to divergent brownish red (rathi). The growers' perception is that rathi seedlings are more vigorous and higher yielding than the green phenotype. A study was conducted to evaluate and compare the nut and copra yield and seedling vigour of phenotypic groups of green, rathi and intermediate coloured fruits. Secondary data for nut yield recorded over 21 years and husked nut weight of 30 nuts per palm collected over a year in 30 palms in each of the three phenotypes were used for analysis. Furthermore, primary data for seedling girth, height and leaf number in 30 palms each of rathi and green phenotypes were collected for analysis. The data was subjected to Analysis of variance using MINITAB 16. Nut yield or the husked nut weight of the three phenotypes was not significantly different. Significant differences were observed in seedling collar girth between rathi and green phenotypes, with rathi seedlings appearing more vigorous as indicated by the thicker stem compared to the green seedlings. It is concluded that, there are no differences in the nut and copra yield among different colour forms of Sri Lanka Tall coconuts while the rathi seedlings appear superior due to their thicker seedling girth.

Genetic analysis in Pacific and Nicobar Islands coconut collections conserved at Andaman Islands, India

Characterization and genetic analysis of coconut accessions collected from Pacific Ocean Islands and Nicobar Islands for morphological, physio-chemical traits and fruit component traits resulted into six distinct clusters with maximum inter-cluster distance D2 value was obtained between cluster IV, V and VI. Cluster VI resulted with high copra yield (244. 3 g), dwarfness and other yield attributing characters followed by clusterIII. Among the accessions high heritability coupled with high genetic advance was observed for fruit weight, weight of dehusked fruit, kernel weight, shell weight and plant height which had direct influence on the copra yield/palm in coconut. Hence, due weightage for these traits must be given in coconut selections for the improvement of copra yield.

Performance of Coconut Hybrids in United Plantations Berhad and Commercial Production of Seed Nuts

United Plantations Berhad began its first coconut planting in 1912. Since then, it has been the responsibility of the breeding team in its research department to sustain a high standard of plant breeding techniques in the development of future planting materials aligned with the objectives of the company. The yield performance of Tall x Tall, Dwarf x Dwarf and Dwarf x Tall hybrids as well as salient points in the commercial production of hybrid seed nut is highlighted.
 Current plantings at UPB consist of older generation of MAWA+ with average yields of 30,000 nuts per hectare per year and newer generations of MATAG* with yields comparable to MAWA but with improved nut characteristics. Breeding strategies are now in place to produce hybrids (Dwarf x Tall) capable of out-performing the MATAG in terms of yield and nut characteristics with minimum yields per hectare of 40,000 nuts and eight tonnes copra.
 Amongst the Tall x Tall hybrids and pure lines of Tall, highest yields were achieved with Tagnanan followed by West African with yields of 24,190 and 23,514 nuts per hectare, respectively, adopting a planting density of 178 palms per hectare. The highest yielding Dwarf x Dwarf cross and self is the Aromatic Green (AGD) and CAMMA++, which provided a similar yield magnitude of 40,000 nuts per hectare planted at a density of 265 palms per hectare. However, as they had lower copra yield as dry nut and lower water content as fresh nut, Dwarf x Dwarf was not the desired commercial planting material. Hence, the breeding programme emphasized in the creation of Dwarf x Tall hybrids aimed at exploiting the large nut size from the tall and high nut number from the dwarf. Amongst the hybrids evaluated in UPB, MATAG hybrid though with lower nut yields had 53.9% higher copra yields per hectare than both AGD and CAMMA making it at present the preferable choice for commercial planting. Newer hybrids are currently being evaluated which shows promise of similar nut yield but improved nut characteristics.
 The commercial seednut production field is confined to a block of 25 hectares and is operated by the Research Department with a maximum production capacity of 110,000 saleable hybrid seednuts (4 months old) germinated seednuts per year. With escalation in costs of inputs and wages, the cost of seednut production has risen to RM30 per seednut in 2014. However, with good agricultural management practices complementing the superior hybrid planting materials, the production cost of a mature coconut from the plantations is relatively low, thus ensuring a sustained profitability of the coconut plantations in United Plantations Berhad.

Forecasting Coconut Yield: A Comparative Study between the Use of Traditional Forecasting and Feed Forward Back Propagation Artificial Neural Network

<p>This study compared the use of Linear Regression and Feed Forward Backpropagation Artificial Neural Network (ANN) in forecasting the coconut yield and copra yield of a selected area in Davao region. Raw data were gathered from the Philippine Coconut Authority, Davao Research Center. An ANN model was created and tested repeatedly to the best combination of nodes. Accuracy of the forecast between the two methods was compared by looking at the mean square error and the standard error for variable x and y. Results showed that the use of Feed Forward Back Propagation Artificial Neural Network gives better accuracy of the forecast data.</p>

GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF THE COCONUT CULTIVAR SAN RAMON

The tall form of coconut, San Ramon was imported to Sri Lanka fromthe Philippines and was first established in the North Western Province. Theopen pollinated seed obtained from the first introduction and planted at theCoconut Research Institute (CRI), form the genetic base for San Ramonimprovement at present. This cultivar inherits the potential of producing 51 %more copra per nut than Sri Lanka Tall palms and 50% more copra per nutthan the improved tall, CRIC 60. The mean copra yield per nut recorded forSan Ramon (selfed), Sri Lanka Tall and CRIC 60 was 371 g, 240 g and 246 grespectively. Preliminary investigations have shown that the oil extractionefficiency of copra is 776 ml per kg of copra for Tall x San Ramon whilst forboth Sri Lanka tall and CRIC 60, it is 740 ml. The results of this studystrongly justify the use of San Ramon and its crosses for copra and oilindustry in Sri Lanka.

EFFECTS OF APPLICATION OF COCONUT HUSK AND COIR DUST ON THE YIELD OF COCONUT

In recent years much attention has been focussed on the importance of moisture conservationpractices in coconut lands, particularly in drier parts of the Coconut triangle. Experiments wereconducted in mature coconut plantations, to study the effect of various methods of application ofcoconut husk and coir dust, in lateritic and sandly soils, on the yield of palms.The results revealed that the use of both husks and coir dust was beneficial to coconutproduction. This was partly attributed to their ability ot retain moisture in the soil and regenerationof more roots per unit area. In terms of copra yield per palm coir dust appeared to be more effectivethan husk in lateritic soil. Of the different placement methods, husk in pits caused significantimprovent in nut and copra yield per palm, while coir dust placed in trenches had the least effect.Furthermore, placing husk or coir dust in pits between two palms appeared to be more effectiveand economical than in circular trenches round each palm. Based on these results, use of coir dustin pits is recommended as an effective alternative to husk pits, for moisture conservation and inreducing the adverse effects on the palm during the dry period.

Achievements in breeding coconut hybrids for tolerance to coconut foliar decay disease in Vanuatu, South Pacific

Coconut foliar decay (CFD) is a disease of coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) associated with infection by coconut foliar decay virus (CFDV), which is endemic in Vanuatu, South Pacific. The local cultivar ‘Vanuatu Tall’ (VTT) is the only cultivar that is fully tolerant to CFD, whereas introduced cultivars and hybrids are affected to different degrees. From 1967 to 2008 a conventional breeding programme was conducted with the aim of creating hybrid planting material combining tolerance to CFD with improved copra yield and high copra weight per nut. This objective was achieved by crossing the progeny of selfed trees of ‘Rennell Island Tall’ (RIT) cultivar, selected for their low susceptibility to CFD in field screening tests, with VTT, improved by mass selection and intercrossing. An improved VTT × RIT hybrid was identified with a high degree of tolerance to CFD (less than 1% of diseased trees after 11 years of exposure to high disease pressure). The annual production of the improved VTT × RIT hybrid ranged from 21.9 to 28.6 kg of copra per tree, depending on the RIT parent, and was, on average, 34% higher than that of ‘VTT Elite’ an advanced cultivar obtained after four selection cycles of local VTT. However, the production of the hybrid in Vanuatu involves constraints such as frequent replanting and isolation of the seed garden and CFD control for the RIT parents. The importance of conducting research on the genetic determinism and the mechanism of tolerance to CFD for better control of the disease in the event that it spreads outside Vanuatu is discussed.

Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) on Coconut + Lanzones (Lansium domesticum Corr) Agro-ecosystem in Southern Mindanao, Philippines (1993 – 2007): with Emphasis on the Multi-Nutrient Coconut-Specific Mineral Fertilizer*. Part II. Influence on Le

A 15- year (1993-2007) long-term integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) study on coconut (‘Laguna’ tall variety) + lanzones fruit tree (‘Paete’ variety) agro-ecosystem was conducted using five fertilizer combinations (FCs) in a dominantly tropical wet climate growing zone (Koppen-Geiger Climate Classification, Kottek et al 2006) of Davao, Southern Mindanao, Philippines (07o05’N 125o37’E. One of the objectives of the study was to determine the response of this agro-ecosystem to the combined application of inorganic multinutrient fertilizer (MNF): N+P+K+Cl+S+B (14% N-5% P2O5-20% K2O, with 15.5% Cl, 4.5% S and 0.02% B) and organic fertilizer sources at different ratios by weight by tree (IF+OF at 1+0; 1+2; 2+4; 4+2 and 4+4) on: crop productivity; soil properties, and leaf nutrient levels of the agro-ecosystem.
 The influence of ISFM and MNF on yields and profitability of the agro-ecoystem coconut and lanzones fruit tree crop (Part I) had been presented earlier in the CORD J. (Magat et al 2009)
 Results as presented in the first part of the work report showed that the application of the multi-nutrient inorganic fertilizer even at its lowest rate for coconut (1 kg/tree/yr) produced a significant increase in annual nut and copra yield per ha from an average of 8,890 nuts or 1.6 tons to 3 - 4 tons after 2 years of fertilizer applications. The non-significant difference in nut and copra yields of fertilizer combinations (FCs) in almost all years showed that even with the application of FC-1 (1 kg of inorganic fertilizer), the lowest rate of the multi-nutrient fertilizer, even without organic fertilizer, an annual yield over 4 tons copra per ha (or over 17, 000 nuts per ha) was produced in most of years of production, seldom achieved in coconut farms in the country.
 The improvement of coconut yield and very productive lanzones fruiting stage in this cropping system may be attributed to the significant influence of fertilizer combinations on the crops’ leaf nutrient contents as N, P, K, Cl and B. The long term effect of organic fertilization contributed much to the improved or enhanced soil physical conditions as the soil bulk density. Soil chemical properties as soil acidity, organic carbon (C), organic matter, available phosphorus (P) and exchangeable potassium (K) were generally enhanced during the 15 years of coconut and lanzones cropping under ISFM with multi-nutrient fertilizer application.
 This long-term coconut + lanzones cropping agro-ecosystem proved to be a sustainable farming system. The proper integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) as a major component of the integrated crop management (ICM) using the PCA-formulated crop-specific-fertilizer multi-nutrient 14(N)-5(P2O5)-20(K2O)-15.5(Cl)-4.5(S)-0.02(B) even at the lowest rate of fertilization contributed to stable soils resulting to the total productivity of the coconut + lanzones fruit tree agro-ecosystem.

Heterosis breeding in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.)

A total of twenty four coconut hybrids comprising of twelve direct (Tall x Dwarf) and their reciprocals (Dwarf x Tall) involving three tall varieties viz., East Coast Tall, Cochin China and Siam with seven dwarf varieties were studied for the manifestation of heterosis for nut and yield characters. The result revealed that high- degree of heterosis was observed for wholenut weight, dehusked nut weight, kernel weight, copra weight, annual nut and copra yield in both direct and reciprocal crosses. Among the twenty four cross combinations, direct and reciprocal crosses of ECT x MOD, ECT x MYD, ECT x CGD and ECT x GBD were found to be superior recording significant positive heterosis for most of the characters over the standard variety East Const Tall.

INFLUENCE OF DRIP IRRIGATION ON GROWTH, NUT CHARACTERS AND YIELD OF COCONUT IN LITTORAL SANDY SOIL

A field experiment was conducted at Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, India for six years (1993-1999) to study the impact of drip irrigation levels and mulching on coconut in littoral sandy soil. The treatments consisted of three levels of drip irrigation (66, 100, and 133 % of open pan evaporation (E0)) along with basin irrigation (100 % of E0) and rainfed control as main plot treatments and mulching with coconut leaves and no mulching as sub plot treatments. The experimental results revealed that annual leaf production and leaf nutrient status of coconut was better in the irrigated treatments compared to the rainfed control. The drip irrigation at 66 per cent of E0 (27 litres of water per palm per day during December-January months and 32 litres of water per palm per day during February-May months) resulted in water saving and the nut yield was on par with 100 per cent and 133 per cent of E0 through drip and 100 per cent of E0 through basin irrigation and differed significantly compared to rainfed control. The nut characters like nut weight, husk weight, copra thickness, copra content and copra yield was superior under irrigated treatments compared to rainfed control. The copra yield was 499 kg per ha under rainfed condition, where as it was 2087 to 2202 kg per ha under irrigated treatments. Irrigation along with mulching with coconut leaves resulted in significantly higher nut yields.

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE POST-REHABILITATION (FERTILIZATION) OF COCONUT IN SCFDP FARMS, PHILIPPINES

Selected sample farms (79) under the Small Coconut Farms Development Project (SCFDP, Philippines) representing five (5) regions and nine (9) provinces were evaluated. The yield trends: (1) initial or benchmark; (2) during rehabilitation period (3-4 years); and (3) post-rehabilitation period (2) years were examined using the nut and copra yield estimation method of the PCA (MAGAT, 1995).
 
 On nut yield, the benchmark average annual yield of 35 nuts/tree increased to 91 nuts/tree during the rehabilitation (rehab) period but dropped to 70 nuts/tree during the post-rehabilitation (post-rehab) period or two (2) years without fertilizer application. This 160% increase in nut production (1995) followed by a reduction of 23% at the post-rehab period is indicative of a moderate to strong residual fertilizer effect after the significant rehabilitation of palms by fertilizer application (supplying mainly N, K, Cl and S fertilizer nutrients). On copra yield, the pre-rehabilitation annual copra yield of 0.94 t ha reached 3.01 t/ha during the rehab period, followed by a drop to 2.21 t/ha at post-rehab. The copra yield increase of 220% during the rehab (1995) is mainly due to the increase in nut yield and nut size or copra weight per nut. An average reduction of 27% during the post- rehab period was observed but in some areas the yield of palms dropped close to pre-rehabilitation nut and copra levels, suggesting lower degree of fertilizer residual effects compared to other coconut regions.
 
 Implications of findings in relation to the rehabilitation by judicious fertilization of low-yielding, nutritionally-deficient non­-senile palms are discussed.