Thomas VarkeyDavis, T.A.2014-08-062014-08-061960Indian Coconut Journal 1960,v.14 p-1-7http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4649The number, size, percentage germination etc. of the coconut pollen in relation to the root (wilt) disease were studied at the Central Coconut Research Station, Kayangulam, Kerala. The dry pollen of a healthy coconut palm is ellipsoidal measuring about 66.4 u. by 33.2u and when it gets soaked with water, it assumes a spherical shape measuring about 49.8 along the diameter. However, the pollen from diseased palms measure less. Dimunitive ones and pollen having irregular shape are at their maximum in the case of diseased, trees in the acute condition. Even where the tree produces only a few male flowers on account of its exhaustion due to disease, the flowers were observed to have numerous normal looking pollen grains capable of germination and presumably fertilisation. The percentage of dummy pollen is higher in diseased palms and there is a correlation between the percentage and the stage of infection. It was also seen that the dummy pollen was more in the case of root (wilt) diseased palms than in. the leaf diseased ones of the same stage of infection. It was also seen that the percentage of germination of the pollen dwindles as the tree gets aggravated with the diseases. In the case of very young palms (healthy ones), the percentage germination of pollen was found to be much lower than that of healthy adult palms.enArticle