Preliiminary study of floral biology of coconut-palm (Cocos nucífera L.) cv. alto Caribe Verde

Estudio preliminar de la biología del cocotero (Cocos nucífera L.) var. alto caribe verde

Coconut it is one of the most cultivated palms in the world and is a source of plant oil, food, drink and coverage. The main coconut exporting product is the unprocessed solid endosperm followed by the dried one. Due to diversity and potentiality, coconut is an important component of the economy of producing countries. As a result of its importance for peasants and lack of improved varieties, the present research was done in the ranch “La Milena” located in the “Ciénaga de Oro” municipality, in the Córdoba Department. Ecologically the climate corresponds to tropical dry forest. The study focused on the floral biology of the variety Alto Caribe Verde; the variables evaluated were flowering habit, time to male and female flowering and growth and development, leaf growth, time to spathe emition and flower abortion. The results showed that the variety produces between 14-18 floral spathe a year, the time for female flowering was 4 to 9 days and the time to male flowering was 11 to 26 days. There was a high variability among individuals with respect to number of female flowers per spathe and number of female flowers per spikelet.

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