Heterosis breeding in coconut - Past, present and future
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Date
1991-12
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Publisher
Journal of Plantation Crops 19 (2) : 70-80 December.. 1991
Abstract
The coconut improvement programme through breeding was initiated in the early part of the current century. The discovery of hybrid vigour in coconut in India by Patel (1937) was a significant landmark in the history of coconut improvement. Subsequently, systematic efforts were made in Sri Lanka, Ivory Coast and Jamaica which led to the successful exploitation of hybrid vigour in coconut. Selection of elite parental palms, testing their combining ability and establishing seed gardens with promising parental lines for hybrid seed production, are the important steps in heterosis breeding. The desired traits both
from Dwarf and Tall pareuts are brought together in hybrids. Due to the concerted efforts of coconut breeders many hybrids have been released for cultivation in different coconut grOWing countries. Notable among them is the Ivory Coast hybrid MAWA of I.R.H.O., which has been widely distributed in different S. E. Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines etc. The historical background of heterosis breeding, present status and future programmes envisaged in various coconut growing countries have been reviewed in this paper.