DSpace Repository :: Browsing by Author "Elangovan, M."

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Regional Training Course On Establishment And Management Of Field Gene Bank For Conservation And Use At Institute of Bioscience, Univesity Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
(1999-09-28) Elangovan, M.
Unexploited diversity in coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.)
(2001) Arunachalam, V.; Augustine Jerard, B.; Elangovan, M.; Ratnambal, M.J.; Dhanapal, R.; Saran Kumar Rizal; Damodaran, V.
The morphological characters of four coconut palms possessing mutant traits are described: plicata (fused leaflets) bi-spatheate (double spadix cover), persistent petioles and inflorescence, and rosette seedling with 12 leaves. Of 71 palms in a Niu Leka Dwarf population, one palm (no. 5/36) has a high degree of fused (plicata) leaflets (>70%) and two palms are bi-spatheate (nos. 5/18 and 5/ 16). The plicata palm had a long juvenile period (13 years), which agrees with other reports. The bi-spathe palm has reduced leaf length, also in agreement with earlier reports. A palm in Hut Bay, Little Andaman having a persistent petiole, and a rosette seedling in a farmers garden are also described. Reports on plants with such novel traits supported by morphological, genetic, biochemical, cytological and ecological data are discussed These hails result mainly horn Inbreeding or recessive mutations. After detailed investigation on these mutant traits, they could serve as markers in identifying inbred palms or palms with recessive alleles in a population. This could help to exploit the hybrid vigour in coconut palm.