Daniel Zizumbo-VillarrealPatricia Colunga-GarciaMarin2014-05-122014-05-122001Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 48: 547–554, 2001http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1142We studied the pattern of variation of 19 morphological and physiological characteristics of leaves and their phenotypic plasticity in 18 Mexican coconut populations experimentally grown under similar conditions and in the presence of LY. The results showed: (a) the existence of five ecotypes differentiated by characteristic means and plasticity of these characteristics: Atlantic Tall, Pacific Tall 1, Pacific Tall 2, Pacific Tall 3 and Malayan Yellow Dwarf (MYD); (b) the characteristics that best differentiate the five ecotypes were: leaf length, number of leaves produced per unit time, and percentage of proximal rachis in leaf; (c) the ecotypes correspond with population groups previously observed in a study of morphological characterization of fruit in situ. Pacific Tall 2 and MYD exhibited high resistance to LY and valuable morphological characteristics making them useful as parents in hybridization programs.enCocos nuciferaEcotypesGermplasmLethal yellowing diseaseMorphologyPhenotypic plasticityArticle