Is there ecological adaptation in coconut nursery seedlings stage?:a preliminary investigation

Abstract

Seedlings were raised in three nurseries representing different agro-ecological regions, to test whether growing seddlings exhibited adaptation to a particular environment. Seed nuts were also selected from agro-ecologically different regions. The T x T seed nuts from the isolated coconut seed garden showed a faster rate of germination at all sites compared to Moorock seed nuts (from the North western region) or Dehigahalande seed nuts (from the Southern region). The vigor of seedlings (a qualitative assessment based on the number of vigorous seedlings selected) was enhanced by a good soil water supply during the early nursery stages combined with a higher level of solar-radiation at the nursery site. There was no interaction between the source of seed nut and site of nursery indicating the absence of manifestation of ecological adaptation at the seedlings nursery. The quality of the seedlings was enhanced by adequate soil water and high level of solar radiation on the nursery beds. The subsequent peerformance of these seedlings would have followed up after field planting to confirm the assumptions on adaptation discussed.