Abstract
A comparative study on the growth of coconut palms planted in different sloping plots was carried out by monitoring the leaf development, number of alive leaves in the crowns and timing of the first spathe emergence. Coconuts planted in flat plots produced about 6-8 leaves per year during the initial two year period after transplanting. Thereafter, about 11-18 leaves were developed annually, and a linear increase in the cumulative leaf numbers was observed up to the 8th year of growth. The initiation of the first spathe occurred in the axil of the 54-55th leaf, when palms were 5-6 years old. At this stage, the number of alive leaves reached a plateau, resulting in the formation of a crown with about 23-27 fully-expanded leaves. On the contrary, in coconuts planted on steep slopes, there was a substantial decrease in the number of leaves that were developed and alive leaves as well. Due to the slow development of leaves, the onset of spathe emergence was markedly delayed. Although fertilizer application enabled to increase slightly the rate of leaf emergence and the number of alive leaves, the growth could not be improved completely into a normal pattern. Planting in gentle slopes exerted a somewhat negative influence on the growth parameters monitored. However, it was possible to alternate this effect by the application of fertilizer, resulting in a similar growth trend to that of the palms observed in flat plots. When coconut palms were planted in flat plots and on gentle slopes with fertilizer application, there was a slight difference in the growth between two planting densities. The lower density (142 palms/ha) led to better growth, compared with the higher density (320 palms/ha) .
