Performance of tenera oil palm hybrids in cauvery delta region of India

Abstract

A study was conducted to find prospective tenera hybrids for cultivation in the Cauvery Delta region. The experiment was set up in a randomized block design with three replications involving ten cross combinations of tenera hybrids (NRCOP 11-20). The data of twelve years indicated that palm height, stem girth, and no. of leaves produced per palm per year revealed significant variations among the ten hybrids. In addition, a higher sex ratio was documented with NRCOP 17 (72 %), with the highest number of female inflorescence (10.60) and least number of male inflorescence (4.10) followed by NRCOP 12 and NRCOP 19 recorded 70% sex ratio with 10.45 female and 4.2 male inflorescences. Regarding productivity and bunch parameters, NRCOP 17 recorded significantly higher fresh fruit bunches (FFBs), yield (198.38 kg palm-1), no. of fruits (17.23) in 250 gm sample, weight of fresh mesocarp (130.53 g), fresh nuts (120.11g), dry mesocarp (70.09 g), dry nuts (110.28 g), shell (100.12 g), kernel (20.58 g) and oil content (21.28 %), respectively. The growth and yield parameters of the tenera hybrid revealed that the NRCOP 17 is a promising hybrid for cultivation in the Cauvery Delta area.