Response of coconut nursery seedlings to some cultural treatments in Nigeria
1986
Iremiren, G.O.
Three nursery agronomic experiments were carried out separately for Nigerian Tall Green (NTG) and Nigerian Dwarf Yellow (NDY) coconut varieties. At the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research Main Station, Benin City, similar growth occurred in coconut seedlings in polybag mulched with oil palm bunch and those without mulch application. This was attributed to the thick husk of the intact nut which serves as a natural mulch and minimised the influence of the bunch refuse mulch. Seedling growth parameters, including total dry weight, were similar at spacing treatments of 30 x 30 cm, 45 x 45 cm, 60 x 60 cm and 75 x 75 cm, except for seedling height and leaf area index which decreased significantly with wider spacings. These were due to etiolation and fewer seedlings per unit land area. The interactions between spacings and sowings in groundbeds and polybags were non-significant. Although growth parameters were also similar in seedlings sown in groundbeds and polybags, the latter system was favoured because of the lower seedling transplanting stress associated with it. At NIFOR Coconut Substation, Abia, both watering at 2-5 litre per seedling per week and overhead shade in the dry season did not significantly influence seedling growth and non-significant interactions occurred. It was recommended that both NTG and NDY coconut varieties should be grown in polybags in the nursery, at a spacing of 30 x 30 cm, without mulch application. Also, watering at the rate of 2 litres per seedling per week in the dry season, without overhead shade, appeared adequate in the Abia area
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