Morphological and molecular characterization of a large fruited unique coconut accession from Vaibhavwadi, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

The morphological and molecular characterization of a large fruited coconut population was undertaken using twenty three morphological traits, six tender nut traits and eight fruit component traits. Fruit component analysis of the nuts of this accession indicated that they have low husk to nut weight ratio typical of the Niu vai type cultivated in South East Asia. The microsatellite analysis indicated that Vaibhavwadi coconut population (MAHT) is generally close to the South East Asian coconut accessions and has proximity with dwarf accessions in the conserved germplasm of India. Though, genetic assignment test did not identify this accession specifically with any particular cultivar in the microsatellite database, the probable origin of this type could be identified as Borneo Tall (60% similarity) a cultivar which is known to produce large coconuts. It is suggested to conserve the MAHT in the National Coconut Gene Bank of India for its utilization in the breeding programme.