Growth, Development and Dry Matter Accumulation in the Fruit of Cocos nucifera L. var nana form pumila

The growth and development, from fertilization to maturity, of the fruit of Cocos nucifera var. Nana form pumila and its components, were studied in terms of dry matter accumulation. The development of the fruit showed an approximately sigmoidal pattern with a substantial linear phase during which most of the increase in dry weight occurred. During the linear phase of growth the rate of dry matter accumulation by the whole fruit was about 70.9g/ month. A linear phase was evident in the growth curves of each of the fruit components husk, shell, and endosperm The growth curves of these compo­ nents also conformed to a sigmoid pattern. The husk, shell and endosperm commenced growth in the first, fifth and sixth months respectively. Over the 11 month period of fruit development the three components grew simultaneously only over a three month period from five to eight months after fertiliza­ tion. The rapid growth phase of the husk, shell and endosperm extended from three to seven months, five to nine months and six to ten months, respectively. During this linear growth phase the average growth rate of the endosperm was 39.9g/ month and the highest rate of growth was 53. l g / month in the ninth month. At maturity the total fruit dry weight was 476g with the husk contributing 41.9'/., the shell 22.5'/. and the endosperm 35.6'/.. I N T R O D U C T I O N The development of the fruit could be divided into four distinct phases, namely initiation, pre-pollination development, post-pollination development and finally matura­ tion and senescence. In coconut, the inflorescence primordium is first visible in the axil of the fourth leaf, counting from the apex. The first differentiation of the ovary and perianth from the female flower primordium takes place about six to seven months prior to the opening of the spathe (Menon and Paridalai, 1958) This is the stage at which the initiation of the fruit takes place. The period from initiation to fertilization is the pre-pollination phase and the development and increase in size during this period is mainly by cell division. The growth during the post-pollination phase, that is, from fertilization to maturity is mainly by cell enlargement which is associated with the accumulation of food reserves. The production and accumulation of food reserves depend on (a) the efficiency of the assimilation system, (b) the storage capacity of the fruit and (c) the translocation of assimi­ lates into the developing fruit from the sites of assimilatioa As there will be twelve or