Productivity and carbon sequestration potential of arecanut cultivars

H.R, Bhoomika; M.R, Hegde; H.P, Maheswarappa

Productivity and carbon sequestration potential of arecanut cultivars

2023

H.R, Bhoomika | M.R, Hegde | H.P, Maheswarappa

A field experiment was conducted at Agricultural and Horticultural Research Station, Thirthahalli, KSNUAHS,Shivamogga, Karnataka, India. Eight arecanut cultivars were evaluated for growth and yield performance for twoconsecutive years and above-ground carbon sequestration potential and the soil carbon sequestration potentialwere assessed. The cultivar SAS-1 performed superiorly over other cultivars for all the growth parametersviz., plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves and internodal distance. Highest yield of fruit bunch wasrecorded in the cultivar Mohithnagar (20.28 kg/palm), followed by Thirthahalli local (17.92 kg) and Sreemangala(17.46 kg). Maximum chali/ dried ripe nut yield was recorded in Thithahalli local (3.29 kg), Mohithnagar (3.10kg) and Sreemangala (2.80 kg). Tender nut yield was also recorded maximum (2.83 kg) in Thirthahalli local,reconfirming the better adaptability to the region over other cultivars under study. Significantly higher valuesfor standing biomass (15.49 t/ha), carbon stock (7.75 t/ha) and carbon sequestration (28.43 t/ha) were recordedin cultivar SAS-1 which are due to its better growth in terms of plant height, stem diameter and number ofleaves. Soil parameters viz., bulk density, soil organic carbon and carbon stock in soil were analyzed in therhizosphere of respective cultivars. Maximum soil organic carbon (13.10g/kg and 11.43g/kg at 0-30 & 30-60 cmdepths, respectively) and carbon stock (52.77 t/ha at 0-30 cm and 46.41 t/ha at 30-60 cm depth) were recordedin cultivar Sumangala. The study proved that apart from being a commercial plantation crop, arecanut servesas a potential carbon sink.

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